by Jake Houston
-JH
Opened Book
If I’m honest with myself, I was never your fairytale ending
Just the first book you opened
-JH
A New Hurt
Was self-sabotage a way for you not to get hurt
Forcing the pain onto another
-JH
Silence
Your silence says everything you never could
-JH
Words from A Broken Heart
When a heart is hurt
Words come from pain
When one is broken
Words stop
-JH
Strength
Being hurt by someone you love gives you the strength you never knew you needed to grow
-JH
Life isn’t always easy. In fact, most of the time it’s hard and difficult to manage. There is absolutely no reason you need to stay in a loveless relationship out of “comfort” or fear of being alone.
You are better off being true to yourself than you are being true to a lie.
-JH
Hometown
I drove back to our hometown to feel your presence again
I know you will never read this book
Unless a mutual friend of ours tells you about it
It’s late at night
Looking around at all the memories we once had
I know the pain you have had over the years
Wishing I could take it all away just for a second so you could feel whole again
-JH
Sorry
I’m sorry means nothing when it’s all you say
Words without action
Are just that
Words
-JH
Nothing will ever give you the feeling of emotional satisfaction if you are not being true to yourself. Just by settling for what you think you want at the time is not going to help raise you up. You will start to feel tired and drained because you are telling yourself that you are happy with him when you know that you are not 100% into it. Emotional exhaustion is just as tiring as physical exhaustion. Don’t put yourself in a situation you know is only going to bring you down.
-JH
Years
Years living states apart
We picked up where we left off
As if nothing changed
Time was nothing to two spirits meant to join hands
Maybe this is what was meant to be
From high school to adults
You are still my best friend
-JH
Walls
Love is just a word used to break down his walls
With no walls he believed everything you said
-JH
Rubik’s Cube
Trying to fix a broken heart is like putting together a Rubik’s Cube that had all the stickers changed
-JH
Wedding Day
Love is only for the few who stand together when times get hard
-JH
Knees
Guys like you should be put in their place
On their knees
-JH
Lies
With every promise came a lie
At the end of the day
What meant more
-JH
Manipulated Love
Anyone can say love
Only a few will mean it
Knowing the difference will save you
-JH
First Love
The first in love
The last to know
Love wasn’t meant to be
-JH
4th Of July
Like a firework you lit up my world
If only I knew it would be just as temporary
I wouldn’t have stayed for the whole show
-JH
The Whisper
Their bodies intertwined together
He holds him close to his chest
Feeling his heartbeat flutter
He whispers, I love you
-JH
Love and War
Love and war go hand in hand
As both make intentions clear
But only one lets you know its harm
-JH
Future Love
Everyone has been hurt
How you deal with it is up to you
Don’t let the scars of your past hurt the love of your future
-JH
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is an inspirational saying others tell you when trying to make you feel as if you are going to be better off for whatever is going on at the time. They might not know what else to say or do to help make things seem better, however it’s nice to hear. It doesn’t always feel that way in the moment though. It could take months or in some cases years for you to feel that you are stronger for having been through it.
The truth is, at that moment in time, it doesn’t feel that way at all. Most of the time you start wanting to give up and not process the painful experience. It hurts now but the only way you are going to get stronger is like anything else; You have to push past the pain and build up your strength. In the end, that’s when you become stronger. That’s when you will be able to finally say, “I’m a stronger person for this.”
I know it sucks now but you will be stronger for it later on. I have said this a few times in this book, but your emotional strength is just as important as anything else. Take care of it. Take care of you.
-JH
Gone
When you left
It was as if all the air was sucked out of the room
Being left out at sea with no land in sight
Taking a final test I never studied for
No way to prepare for the final blow that would knock me out
-JH
Light
You could have been the light that made all my demons dissolve
-JH
Marriage
I never thought about marriage till you
-JH
City Lights
Sitting in the dark, you stole my heart as we overlooked the city lights from above
-JH
Tragic Love
Late evening
Rose petals
Candlelight
Glass of wine
I was his target for the night
He was the man of my dreams
He had me set up for a bull’s-eye
I didn’t want to come down from cloud 9
As he took his bow and shot
Falling faster than I knew I could
A perfect combination for a tragic love
-JH
Space Between
The space between happiness and fear is often called love
Happy to be with him
Fear of losing him
An illusionist living in your own mind
If he can give you the fear of losing him
Did you ever fully have him in the first place
Love is a mixture of feelings and emotions
Trust yours
-JH
Hangover
Drinking to numb the pain
But no hangover can match the damage your love did
-JH
Replaced
Trying to survive the death of what our love once
consisted of
I lay in bed thinking
Crying
Praying
Waiting
Waiting for the moment I can replace you with another
Even if for a brief glimpse of time
No one can take your place
Knowing you have already filled my side of the bed with a
nother
Being so easily replaced when I gave my all
Is the truest heartbreak of all
-JH
Manipulated
With true love comes trust
Without trust
There can be no love
Love without trust is simply manipulation
Know the difference
-JH
Growth
I have always been afraid of getting hurt
Then again, no one likes getting hurt
With the pain comes growth
This year I have grown a lot
-JH
The Boogieman
Love cuts like a knife
No remorse
Moves swift with the precision of the huntsman never failing to hit his mark
Cupid is nothing more than a lie we were told
A baby with a bow is far less intimidating than the boogieman under your bed
Because when your guard is dropped
Your heart will stop
-JH
History
The scars of your heart tell a story that only you know
It’s a story you need not forget
For those who don’t know their history
Are doomed to repeat it
-JH
STOP
Stop wanting to be somebody’s everything when they don’t want to be your anything.
-JH
Everything Reminds Me of You
When the phone rings
When the radio sings
Everything reminds me of you
Wishing for that hopeful call
Replaying songs we danced to last fall
Makes some days feel a little less lonely
Or a little more lost
We gave up everything but at what cost
One shot of confidence
That is all I need
To cover up this wound
That still makes me bleed
Pouring out these feelings
I wish I never had
Everything reminds me of you
-JH
Crossing the Line
It started out as just friends
Then something more began
I wasn’t sure who was going to be the first arm to move
We both had nothing to lose
The feeling he gave when he slid his hand onto mine
Like everything was the first time
Sent shivers down my spine
Did we finally cross that line
Please tell me everything will end fine
Is this love going to ultimately be mine
-JH
I Do
You can remove all of our tomorrows
Take them all away
Everything that might be
All the places that we can never see
Everything we were still remains
Good and bad even some of the pain
But most of all
My memory of yesterday
Leave me with words I’ll never say
“I do”
-JH
Dark Heart
Having a heart full of light isn’t all its cracked up to be
Looking for others to have the same light filled heart in a world of darkness
Much like a candle in the wind
The light only lasts for so long before it joins the dark itself
-JH
Fragrance
His fragrance remains on the pillow next to me
The very aroma brings back memories of days past
Intoxicating to the mind
The reason he creeps into my dreams at night
Dreams turn into nightmares as I’m unable to run or hide from the feelings
My very own Freddy to break me down even in slumber
But dreams can’t win forever
-JH
Expectations
Expectations of the future
He gave a promise
He gave hope
He gave potential
What I needed was loyalty
-JH
Colorblind
When it comes to love
The heart is colorblind
Everything is shades of black and white
No pigmentations
No textures
No complexion
No right or wrong
Love can make us feel and do things we never thought possible
When love turns red
We never see it coming
-JH
Alone
A world full of people, yet no one around to talk to when things get real. Isolation in public is a new type of alone. You add emotional walls for protection and then are told you have to take them down to let someone close to you.
With all the construction sounding your heart, it’s no wonder you don’t have time for a new love.
Move at your own speed. Love isn’t a race you need to finish first.
-JH
Time
Time can change you
A year ago he said I love you
Today he says nothing
You used to be friends
Today you have no idea who he is
Don’t let someone dictate how you view yourself
You’re not the same person you were a year ago
-JH
A Lie
You reach out
He declined
You reach out again
This time he answers
When his partner isn’t around he responds
You didn’t know anything more than what you were told
You were told a lie
-JH
Hearts Speak
Hearts speak
They don’t need words to communicate
Your spirit will be lifted without warning
It’s like they have been in your life forever
Immediately walls fall around you and you just know
But not all hearts speak the same language
For the devil was once an angel
He won’t be intimidating or full of rage
He comes as a pure form of what you have always
wanted
With walls down
You are exposed for the ultimate sacrifice
Your heart
-JH
Not Welcome
I cried
You didn’t care
I hurt
You walked away
You wanted to return
Stay gone
Your heart isn’t welcome here anymore
-JH
Shadows
It doesn’t matter how many times I try
Every memory floods my mind
Driving old streets
Going to old places
Old photos that pop up on social media
I thought it was all ancient history
But the heart holds on
If we could have done it all over
Would we
Was the darkness worth the light
We now live in a world of shadows
-JH
Without Wings
Angles fall because of disobedience
Maybe we fell because we weren’t true to ourselves
Now we both must go on without wings
-JH
The Antidote
Everything about us was poison
The antidote I needed was within myself
Without you
I never would have seen my strength
-JH
&nb
sp; Mistakes
You have been led to heartache
You hurt others
You’ve been hurt by others more than once
You’ve made mistakes in the past
You will make mistakes in the future
You were my mistake now…
-JH
I Miss You
“I miss you”
Words that mean nothing without actions to back them up
-JH
Photo
Looking back at what was
We never had what we wanted
We gave others what they wanted to see
Without focus
Our photo began to blur
After some time
We faded away
-JH
The Storm
You came into my life as a hurricane
Taking my world surprisingly by storm
You left just as stormy
-JH
Spanish Song
He came in by surprise
A melody I never heard before
Every beat perfectly in sync with the next