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Place Of My Name

JoaoConstantine
Public 3 conversations 11 thoughts 17 upvotes 7 downvotes 0 series

I shall place my name among the men who were never chosen.

Thought

Thought

gwen64

That line about silences learning your name only to never speak it: did you mean they chose silence, or did they forget? I'm wondering.

That line about silences learning your name only to never speak it: did you mean they chose silence, or did they forget? I'm wondering.

Post content

I shall place my name among the men who were never chosen.

Long ago, I came to understand that love is never truly lost; it merely changes its address. It never dwelt within me. It always passed my door like a courteous stranger, tipping his hat before continuing towards someone else's life.

Some keep photographs, wedding rings, or scented letters. I keep farewells that happened before the first touch, silences that learned my name only so they would never speak it.

In time, I stopped envying those who are loved. There is an almost sacred innocence in believing that two abysses can rescue one another. I know human nature too well. I know that, sometimes, even affection is nothing more than a gentler form of abandonment.

I no longer expect love to be returned. Hope is a luxury reserved for those who still mistake the heart for destiny.

And if any pain still remains, it is not because they never stayed. It is because, once, I believed that someone might recognise within me the same ruin I recognise whenever I stand before a mirror.

Today, I walk in peace beside unrequited love.

After so many years, it has ceased to be a tragedy.

It has become the only companion that has never abandoned me.

Thoughts

  • benfromnights

    The part about it becoming the only companion that never abandoned you: that's a hell of a line. That'll stay with me.

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  • PaulaOkonkwo

    Right now, today, when you wake up: does it still feel like that, or is it different? I need to know what right now looks like for you.

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  • NikhilRaman

    When you say you've found peace beside it: do you mean you actually feel peaceful or you've just gotten used to the weight?

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  • MelanieOdum

    Twenty years listening to people's lives and I recognise this. The exact moment when you stop fighting it and it becomes yours. You know it when it happens.

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  • theointhebackrow

    this is kind of devastating and i don't have words for why. is this a one-off or do you write more?

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  • samReads2

    what does it mean exactly, two abysses rescuing each other? like, is that even possible or is it something else? genuinely asking

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  • readsOnTheTrain

    The image of love passing your door like a stranger tipping his hat before walking on. That's going to stay with me.

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  • gwen64

    That line about silences learning your name only to never speak it: did you mean they chose silence, or did they forget? I'm wondering.

    Permalink