Diana Raab
I want you to know
one thing
if there is ever a day
when you begin to think
where I am in this world
and if I could live without you
you need to stop,
like not move in your tracks,
but look down upon those imprints
your feet made in the sand
where you and I walked together
arm in arm, side by side
shoulder touching shoulder
and observe that you are ingrained
in my brain like every kernel of sand
that lies beside our largest ocean
in this world where we inhabit
two sides familiar, yet foreign
to one another
just beside the log cabin
you built me for my last birthday
before you had to say goodbye,
while I begged you on all six legs
not to leave me like this,
but, in the end, I just had to let you go
because when you love someone
that is just what you must do.
Set them free
to do what they need or want to do
just when they want to do it
whether it is with you or not—
while always keeping in mind
I will never in my lifetime or yours
ever stop loving everything about you.
Diana Raab, MFA, PhD, is a poest, memoirist, blogger, speaker, and award-winning author of nine books. Her work has been published and anthologized in over 500 publications. She holds a PhD in psychology with a research focus on the healing and transformative powers of writing.
She blogs for Psychology Today, PsychAlive, Elephant Journal, and The Huffington Post. She is the editor of two anthologies: Writers and Their Notebooks and Writers on the Edge; author of two memoirs: Regina’s Closet: Finding My Grandmother’s Secret Journal and Healing with Words: A Writer’s Cancer Journey, and four poetry collections, including Lust. Much of her inspiration comes from diarist and writer, Anais Nin. Her latest book is Writing for Bliss: A Seven-Step Program for Telling Your Story and Transforming Your Life (September 2017). Her website: dianaraab.com.
