Before Was Was Was, Was Was Is — A Poem by AJIZZ

A reflective poem by AJIZZ exploring lost love, the weight of memories, the loneliness of letting go, and the difficult journey of rediscovering oneself after heartbreak.

AJIZZ · Oct 27, 2026 · 2 min read22 views

Before Was Was Was, Was Was Is — A Poem by AJIZZ

Introduction

Love leaves memories, unanswered questions, and lessons we never expected to learn.

In Before Was Was Was, Was Was Is, AJIZZ explores heartbreak, healing, and self-discovery through contemporary African poetry. This reflective poem about lost love captures the pain of letting go and the journey of finding yourself again.

By AJIZZ

Before was was was
was was is.

I still think about those days when your name was a song living inside my chest

When your smile was the kind of light that could calm the storms in my mornings

Back then we were everything

We were forever before forever became a word we were both afraid to trust

Funny how time plays games

Yesterday we were building tomorrow. Today I am lying in a bed too big for one, asking the empty sheets if they remember your weight

Before was was was, was was is

That was the truth of us

What we had was real, but what we have now is a memory wearing an old jacket, still familiar but no longer mine to hold

I loved you deeply

I learned the songs you loved, the stories behind your laughter, the silence hidden between your words

Only to become a stranger hearing your voice from a place I can no longer reach

I used to know your heartbeat

Now I know the rhythm of my own loneliness

You left, and the emptiness became my teacher

I studied the architecture of an empty room. I learned the shape of a space that was designed for two but forced one person to survive inside it

Still, thank you

Thank you for the memories, the madness, the late night conversations, the moments that convinced my heart it had finally found a home

I lost you, but somewhere inside the ruins of everything we built, I found pieces of myself that I had forgotten

Maybe that is the funniest tragedy of love

Sometimes the person who breaks your heart is the same person who teaches it how to beat again

Because before was was was, was was is

And what was once my ending became my beginning

Now I am learning to love the person looking back at me in the glass

Before I chase another reflection, before I give another heart a home inside mine, I must first become someone I never want to lose again

Before was was was, was was is

But now, is is becoming my story

Author's Note

I wrote this poem from a place of reflection, looking back at a love that once felt like forever and learning to accept what remains when that love becomes a memory. For me, Before Was Was Was, Was Was Is is about understanding that something can be real and beautiful even when it does not last, and that losing someone does not have to mean losing yourself. Sometimes, healing is not about forgetting someone but learning to remember them without forgetting who you are. Before I give another heart a home inside mine, I must first become someone I never want to lose again.

Written: October 4, 2026

Love this poem? Read more contemporary poetry by AJIZZ here.

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