Without hesitation or reservation I opened my heart to you. All I was and hoped to be I gave to you. It was enough… for a while. Then you grew restless and in time, mean to me. Why didn’t you just leave instead of staying around and breaking my hard? A.S.

I think anyone who opened their heart enough
to love without restraint and subsequently
were devastated by loss knows
that in that moment you are forever changed;
a apart of you is no longer whole.
Some will never again love with that level
of abandon where life is perceived
as innocent and the threat of loss seems implausible.
Love and loss, therefore, are linked.
Donna Lynn Hope