Beyond the familiar shadows

I sit here in the heavy quiet,

and what I feel is sharp and clear - 

this atmosphere is suffocating,

a truth too toxic to keep near.

He is a shadow of the person

I thought I used to know and hold.

I know that change is always coming,

that life unspools as days unfold;

But change should open up the windows,

should bring the light and help people grow,

not leave a space so cold and airless

that everyone is slowly rendered low.

No matter how they try to frame it,

this isn't growth; it strips away.

And just because it felt familiar

does not mean I am bound to stay.

I leave the weight in yesterday.

I will not give it one more day.