A Shadow of Your Old Self

The truth is, it's almost painful to look at you again.
Seeing you the way you are now, it brings tears to my eyes.
That's why I was afraid to see you again...
That's why I distanced myself, to preserve the memories
Of who you once were,
Because, put simply, I tried to forget the fact that...

You changed.
And I can truthfully say you did not change for the better.
What the hell happened? You were once someone I could identify with,
Laugh with, cry with, talk about anything with.
Your values, your beliefs, your mannerisms...everything,
Was just admirable. I felt I could connect with you.

But then....came that radical, drastic change.
Gone was the pure, kind individual you once were.
You became a shadow of your old self;
Your ideologies twisted, your soul slowly sinking into corruption.
It's like I didn't know you anymore.
I tried to put up with it...In part, I feel it's my fault.
I should have spent more time with you, guided you better,
but I didn't want to push you away in the process.
In the end, I couldn't bring myself to say goodbye..
I just vanished from your life altogether.

And I can say from my heart that it's not just you.
Everyone I have met in my life, the ones that I made close connections with,
They too are going down a path I know I cannot follow.
And it hurts me...
Is it wrong for me to care about people so much
That it breaks my heart seeing what they become as years go by?
I wish I could tell people I love, to never change.
If only it were that easy...
I know I should have told you that long ago.
But now it's too late...

The least I can do now, is to finally give you a proper goodbye.
Goodbye, to the person you once were who will never come back.
And to remember me in those days past, as I will remember the old you
That perished so long ago...