The words

The words sit by themselves these days
On dusty shelves; forgotten
Once vibrant and colorful
Now faded and null

They call to me every now and then
Wanting me to come and save them
But I know who I was with them
And I know that I hated myself

Even now I can hear them calling
Screaming obscenities in strained tones
And I smile, knowing I'm finally stronger
And that the hold they held no longer applies

Only the muse would understand, and she's drunk again
Passed out sideways on the bed in the other room
The words don't bother her anymore either
And sometimes I wonder if we did the right thing

We sit in silence now
With only each other for company
No words ever need to be said between us
We know and feel what the other does

And yet, despite all the damage they have done I owe them
I owe the words for getting me past all the hard times
It saddens me that I can never repay them
In the manner that they deserve

But I was like an addict without my fix and
The words sustained me for those years
I know they owned me, controlled my future
And once free I can't sign it away again

They're begging now, just for a hint of acknowledgment
And it hurts that I have to ignore them
It always comes down to doing what is right
Or doing what we've always done