08/29/2026
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Tears for the One Who Had to Go
Sometimes my tears are not for me,
nor for the grief
that lives within my heart.
They are for the one who had to go,
for the soul that left too soon.
I do not cry
because I was left behind,
I cry
because you had to leave.
And sometimes I cry
for the weight you carried in silence,
for the battles
no one ever saw,
for the nights you smiled through the pain
so the world would never know
how weary your soul had become.
I cry for the dreams
that will remain unfulfilled,
for the places you will never see,
for the hands you will never hold again,
and for all the little things
you thought you still had time for.
My tears are for the moments
you will never get to live.
They are for every unfinished sentence,
every unspoken word,
every "I love you"
that lingered in the silence
because we believed
there would always be
another day.
So the tears spill from my eyes,
not asking to be understood,
not asking to be comforted,
because some goodbyes
are too deep for words.
My tears are not for me,
or even for my own broken heart.
They are for the one who had to go,
for the journey you never chose,
for the goodbye
you never deserved,
and for the part of you
that will forever remain
here,
in the hearts
of those who loved you,
who remember you,
and who were never ready
to let you go.
~ 'Tears for the One Who Had to Go' by Spirit of a Hippie
✍️ Mary Anne Byrne
~ Art by Lena Chernyshykh
