when youre away — Summary

it's easier when your away. out of my head, out of my sight. it's easier to heal when i'm not thinking about you. i think about you less when i see you less. but just as the moon needs the stars, i feel like i need you just as bad. and i dont. i know i dont. i know how you feel and i just cannot feel the same way. and that's what sucks.

Show the whole poemHide the poem

Learn Poems app

Try the Learn Poems app

Everything from the website trainer, and more: new exercises, voice recording and sharing, reminders, quick review.

Here, the speaker admits that life is simpler when someone is out of the picture. Distance helps: the less they see this person, the less they think about them, and the easier it is to heal. The opening lines are short and flat, almost like someone repeating a rule to themselves so they'll believe it.

Then the poem wobbles. The moon-and-stars comparison suggests a pull, a feeling of needing the other person. But the speaker immediately pushes back: "and i dont. / i know i dont." That repetition sounds like self-persuasion, as if saying it twice might make it true. The real problem comes near the end. The other person has feelings for the speaker, and the speaker can't return them. Judging by the lines, the hurt comes from that mismatch, from knowing someone cares and being unable to feel the same.

The mood is tired, honest, and a little deflated. The casual ending, "that's what sucks," keeps the pain plain and unpolished, which makes it feel believable.

Read also

More by lyndsey599

All poems
Romanticlyndsey599

meeting you again

if i had the chance to meet you again, would i do anything differently? would i tell you how i felt back then? would i still keep it to myself?
Inspiredlyndsey599

part 16/learning from you

i'm learning to walk away from things that are not mine. things that are not good for me. things that have hurt me in the past. things that made me make bad choices.
Sadlyndsey599

true colors of you

does your heart feel lighter now that i'm not there? now that i'm walking away. i'm accepting that you are water slipping through my fingers and i just cannot hold onto you no matter how desperately i try to grasp onto you. i miss your true colors,