i & you

if i tried to do something uncharacteristic
don’t stop me, let me try

if i let my greed motivate me to attain
remeber my selfless acts, from before

if i become shallow and vain
look past it, my weak ego

if i treat others unkind
feel foreign, to your own skin

if i strike you with anger
grasp your chest, unbruised

if i disgust you with my language
let my old words, heal your soul

i could be any of these things
but i choose not, for myself (not you)

i stopped caring a long time ago
but you wouldn’t know that, you showed me

i don’t know why i was there
keeping my mouth shut, my hands tied

maybe your lips sealed
while your words, restricted

but that was then
now, you are gone