Not This Time

Acrylic painting on a canvas panel, inspired by Not This Time by Neev Kennedy.
Not This Time
By: Joy⚡️Al
I still feel you…
even with my eyes closed.
Your warmth is gone,
but your ghost knows every part of me.
I wanted to believe
that love could be enough,
that maybe you’d choose me again —
the way I never stopped choosing you.
But hope is a dangerous fuel,
and I’ve burned long enough.
I know now…
we are not the same.
Not anymore.
And as much as my body still longs for yours,
I won’t beg.
I won’t bend.
Because this time…
I choose myself.
And you…
you don’t get to come back.
Not this time.