What pains the soul more,

Divorce or annulment?

The ending of something good

Or the realization

That there was never something good to begin with?

Both have an aura of finality,

The cruel gentleness of a sudden goodbye

Even if it had been brewing for ages

Beneath forced smiles.

You don’t know who they are anymore,

Or is it that you don’t know your own self?

Reaching backwards for answers you never possessed

Even when sure that you knew where you stood.

Perhaps love once existed;

Perhaps it was always a lie.