heartache

oh, how my heart aches
from hours of telling her
"I swear, it's not you"
from days of saying
"but this is how it's always been"
from years of saying
"you deserve to be treated better"

my heart does ache so
from feeling her pain
from speaking the truth
from listening to her cry
the most pain I feel though
is from hearing her say
"maybe I can still make it work"
and knowing that's her choice

a woman is allowed to sacrifice herself
to God knows what purpose or cause

there is nobody who can stop her
no one to save her from herself

why is it that we protect children,
even taking them from their mothers,
placing them to live with mercenary strangers,
and yet

when a woman isn't loved by her husband,
we encourage her to be kind,
patient, compassionate and understanding,
forgiving, selfless, and even optimistic?

at what age does a girl lose our protection
and stop being worthy of our compassion?
when is she no longer entitled to our care?

why does it no longer matter
that she also needs to be loved and cherished,
that she wants to feel secure in the present moment,
that she deserves to live with someone she can trust
with her heart?