I wish you didn’t let him control you the way he did. I wish you never allowed him to interfere in everything in your life so he could ruin it. I wish you never gave him that power.

I wish you stood up to him the first time he yelled at you. The first time he made you feel bad for speaking up. I wish you had the courage to keep talking even if he doesn’t agree.

I wish you said no more often. I wish you weren’t so worried about his feelings that you neglected your own.

I wish you knew that you were always stronger. I wish you knew how weak he really is and how weak he’ll always be.

I wish you didn’t see the best in him.

I wish you never gave him all the love that he never deserved and all the things he took for granted.

I wanted you to become your own hero instead of trusting him to make you fly. I wish you didn’t trust him blindly because he didn’t catch you and you were left with scars and bruises that will never be healed. You were left with scars that have no remedy. Scars that will live with you forever.

I wish you were stronger because I know deep down you are.

I know you’re capable of leaving.

I know you’re capable of realizing that you deserve so much better.

I know you’re aware that love shouldn’t be that painful or that destructive.

I know you know better.

I know you know he’s not worth it. I know you know he’s not a good person and he doesn’t have your heart.

I know you always want to be the bigger person, the kinder person, the person who forgives, the person who lets go but you don’t see what this is doing to you. It’s killing you.

Your love for him is killing you.

Your sacrifices are killing you.

Please don’t lose yourself trying to keep him.

Please don’t stay if he doesn’t respect you, if he’s not the person you run to when the whole world is against you and don’t stay because of how long you’ve been together.

It’s never too late to start over, it’s never too late to realize that you’ll be so much happier without him. It’s never too late — it’s always the right time for you and I think that your time has come to leave. His time is up with you.

Please understand that when you lose him, you’ll find yourself and you will be happy. And I promise you, once you let him go, you’ll feel alive. You’ll fly. You’ll heal.

Rania Naim is a poet and author of the new book All The Words I Should Have Said, available here.