Damn those Labels

“My life is so much better without You.”
Break away from the stigma of shame,
Feeling sad or ashamed to say this,
upholding this, through which you are,
Truly about friends or family…
There’s absolutely nothing wrong
With staying away from toxicity,
From abusive relationships.
It isn’t because we hate them,
Or any of that sort of negative perceptive,
Can be misconstrued. 
It's truly because there were human rights,
My own personal rights & boundaries broken!
Disrespect, like no other,
That complying and following old 
Society “Norms,” of forgiving,
Wiping under the rug forgiveness,
Both enables and allows it to continue…
Not putting up with it,
Being abusively intolerant,
Keeps both our dignity intact and our needs met!
Those are two very powerful fuels, 
for which we Can stay forward, now.
Wholly here,
Wholly thriving,
Wholly celebrating our lives!
Stop slapping, slander like labels,
Trying to get us to conform,
So we put up with the bullshit
Society/religious bracket of
 “Family, or because we’ve been friends for so long,” 
that we should not be our beautiful selves.
To be disrespected, mistreated,
To get an ounce of love, and appreciation,
By taking on pounds of destruction…
Better to go my own way,
Better for the both of us, the
All of us, to be liberated from the constriction
Of limited, conditional, circular hell!
In my choosing to walk away didn’t
Abandon or desert you,
Stop the victim mentality,
Saint like pity parties,
Proclamations to gather everyone,
To support your, whatever you claim
To be true, is your truth,
Not mine!
Not the way I want to continue to live,
Not what we all deserve!
I don’t want that stress, that pressure,
That toxicity to live up to you,
Not after my own dreams, heart, path...
Peace, is the way it needs to be,
Freedom to be who we want to be,
Who we think, feel, and choose to be…
That is how my life is better without you,
I get to learn from my own experiences,
Hear myself think, 
Live abundantly open,
Receptive to my own choice, act and will…
Respecting and leaving you alone,
To live your life as you choose too.
Allowing me to be far enough away,
To observe, maybe even reflect,
Love from a distance,
Even if its not reflected back, 
Even if its deflected,
Even if its not wanted or needed,
Because I am my own…
This is who I am,
And you don’t know me to be!
I send you, love,
Instead of guilt, shame, and/or resenting you…
There’s no reason or excuse 
For spite, revenge!
All I have is 
Happiness, Peace, Love and Joy
To send, shine with and to give,
Even if it doesn’t meet your expectations or ideals,
I send love anyway…
All is already forgiven,
My contributions,
Their contributions,
But just because I have forgiven them,
Doesn’t mean I go back,
Or they come back in,
It means I get to stay present,
And I get to move forward,
With my own approval and permission…
This is my how it got better,
Still gets better, always now,
Always presently good…
Blessing to the lessons,
Blessings to these feet for all the paths,
People, lessons along the way.
I am here, to live by my own terms,
Whether it’s liked, hated, reported,
Lawsuited, sued, denied, adversity,
Challenges where I thrive,
From time to time,
As to offer me to build new,
To grow new, to learn new,
To create and be cultivated,
By new, presently, 
Are what my presence/presents,
I take forward… 
Thank you,
For helping realize the strengths,
I didn’t know I was capable of overcoming,
Things that tradition and molds wish to hold 
Captive of… I am something new,
Always becoming, always changing,
But always my own kind of me,
That will never be something else,
Just because “We’re Family. We’re friends.”
So be warned,
You don’t get to define me, I do..
The only fraud occurring,
Is you hating that I no longer,
Comply to people pleasing,
Just because I used too, doesn’t mean,
I do now, get relevant…
Stop the Stigma, stop being resistant
To all people being individualistic,
Love them closely, intimately,
Respectively and if needed be,
From a distance…
Melissa Palmer © Evolving Mirror
Live life as you choose too,
Be as you choose too,
Stop or keep going,
It's up to you to live your life,
As you choose too,
And it's not a case of whether I like it or not,
It's all up to you… It’s your life…