I will love him more than I should,
Give him more benefit of the doubt
Than he deserves.
I will accept half-truths
As if they were whole,
Believing him, instead of my gut.
I will overlook discrepancies in his explanations.
I will cautiously walk on the eggshells
He keeps around himself.
I will forget who I am,
But remember his mother’s birthday,
Sign his name on a card, and mail it to her.
I will live a lie without even knowing it,
and I’ll wonder why I’m not happy
and why nobody has ever thanked me.
Occasionally a poem catches my attention. This one captures my heart. In five stanzas it also defines codependency — at least what it means to poet Stephanie Darnell and others.
No Small Love, Stephanie’s online gallery and shop, offers more of her creations, including a growing collection of greeting and note cards. While most of the cards speak to special occasions such as a daughter’s birthday, her gallery includes three sympathy cards that speak to grief with the same clarity and soul as her poem about codependency.
Stephanie’s poem and website don’t need a longer introduction. They speak for themselves.
Melody
From the desk of Melody Beattie
Originally posted 2010