Leaving Space
Learning to stop rescuing. Every instinct I have says to fix it for her, but stepping back leaves room for both of us to ask for what we actually need.
Your phone is on the table, and you're walking out the door
A simple, little oversight, I've seen a thousand times before
The old me would have grabbed it, and run to save your day
The Rescuer, the Hero, in the same old, tired play
But I just watch you leave now, a ghost inside my head
And fight the urge to fix the world for you again instead
'Cause this is me, just leaving space
A quiet and a terrifying grace
I will not be your shield, your splint, your king, your trusted guide
I'm just the man who's standing on the other, empty side
Of the chasm of your own damn heart, you have to learn to leap
While I just stand here silently, with promises to keep
To myself, this one last time
I'm leaving you the space to climb
You come to me in tears again, the storm is in your eyes
You're looking for the harbor in my patient, kind replies
The old me would have held you, and calmed your every fear
And whispered all the pretty lies I thought you'd want to hear
But I just nod and listen now, I do not try to mend
The broken pieces of a heart I can no longer tend
'Cause this is me, just leaving space
A quiet and a terrifying grace
I will not be your shield, your splint, your king, your trusted guide
I'm just the man who's standing on the other, empty side
Of the chasm of your own damn heart, you have to learn to leap
While I just stand here silently, with promises to keep
To myself, this one last time
I'm leaving you the space to climb
It is the hardest thing I've done, to watch you fall and bleed
And know final thing you need's the one you can't get from me
It's not my strength, it is your own, that has to be the cure
This is the only love that's real
This is the love that will endure
I'm leaving space
I'm trusting you
It's all that I can do
It's all that I can do
But I’m not leaving you