Exposed

The shell is off.
All that is left is me.
Am I the same person she left in May?
Not even close.
Could I ever be the same as I was then?
I could not now or ever be him again.
So here I sit exposed.
The whole world can see me.
Am I scared? Sure I am.
Will I be judged for this? Probably.
And yet the proof is in the picture.
I am now free. Nothing can take that away.
It is now my life.
Mine to do as I see fit.
Mine to do as I see fun.
I will make mistakes along the way,
but they will be mine as well.
I no longer regret this happening.
Divorce is not so bad.
You end up learning things you did not want to know,
then you find that you actually did want to know them.
It has been 6 months since she dropped the bombshell.
An amazing 6 months. A painful 6 months. A growing 6 months.
I have learned so much. I could never squeeze back into my shell.
I would never even try. So, here I am to actually start living.
I feel like I was just born.

About 15 years ago I was at a friends house.
Her roommate came home and they were giving me a tour.
On the wall in the roommates bedroom,
she had hung a wonderful nude photo of herself.
I thought that was just strange.
How could anyone be so exposed like that.
I never understood it. I do now.
The photo above now hangs proudly in my living room.
No need to hide. No need to take it back.
Someone new lives here, and his name is Dave.

PS: If you are offended, don't look :-)