To The Spurned

It’s in all the stories ⁠—
we each will have
a mouthful of sorrow
to choke on or swallow,
and will carry our grief
with us, a ballast
dependable as gravity
keeping us here.
And whether you, or she
was first to turn away,
you both remain
indelible
for each other,
heartache and joy
worn like a scar,
a mark, a badge,
a testament of grace ⁠—
declaring love,
once lived, remembered, known,
can never leave us less
than we would have been
without it.