I saw your face today

I saw your face today.
I saw you look away.
I know that you cannot
Yet somehow I forgot
To set your mind at ease.
I can’t do as you please,
I am not yours, your tool.
Mistake me not, no fool
Am I to be your toy
That, at will, you employ
To play, to sing, to dance,
T’have your way with, per chance.
I am my very own
And I will make it known
That who I am is me.
Tis I I long to be
And no one else. Pray tell,
You wish to know me well?
I’m hard and soft in one.
I rarely come undone.
I love myself too much
And so I will, as such,
Hurt those around that care.
Take thus what I can bear
Take what it is I need
And to my words hence heed:
I love you, that’s for sure,
But myself, I love more.
So tread softly, my sweet.
I’ll come to no defeat.
I’ll keep my head up high.
I’ll hang my heart to dry.
I’ll stand before you, tall.
Won’t let my graces fall.
Won’t let you bruise my soul.
Won’t let you drill a hole
Into my heart’s affair
Despite that I may care
‘Bout you, ‘bout her, ‘bout us
‘Bout what we should discuss.
My ache for you is real
(I got a shabby deal)
And yet I live and breathe
And should you never leave
Your jewel turned to sand
I have here in my hand
And nestled deep within,
Embedded in my skin
The power of my choice,
The power of my voice.
At last I understand
That even if un-manned
My life may seem to be
‘Tis I who needs to see
That one need not be two,
That I won’t live for you,
That passions fade away
And leave mere presence, grey
Instead what once was red
And ruled by heart not head.
I wish not to decay
T’eternal winter’s day
Where rays of sun shine cold
Where young love turns to old
Turns to what barely lives
To what no longer gives
The pleasures of times past
When they were meant to last
When tender touch prevailed
And sweetness never failed
To calm tough tempers still,
Warm up the coldest chill.
I miss you now, ‘tis true
But as the sky is blue
I promise to let go
The things that hurt me so,
So I may live my life
Not in pain nor in strife
But in pleasure divine
To know my life is mine.