Nina Simone

Knowing When to Leave Love Behind

Finally, “get up” implies motion, agency, and a future beyond the table. It suggests that the end of one arrangement is not the end of love itself—only the end of accepting starvation where nourishment should be. Standing up can be grief-filled, but it can also be the first honest act in a long time. And once you leave, you reclaim the possibility of being fed again—by community, by purpose, by self-trust, and eventually by healthier intimacy. Simone’s message closes like a door opening: when love is absent, departure is not failure; it is the decision to survive with dignity. [...]