i guess i could
stay at a safe distance
and watch you
brighten the world
from afar

but i would rather burn
trying to get close enough
to touch you

a rebellious soul like mine
never thought to romanticize stability
until the blue in your eyes
felt like my first cloudless sky

you give life’s hardest moments
a softness
that i could live in forever

the word ‘was’
carries a lot of weight
so that you don’t have to

i let you use the back of my throat
as your punching bag
when i know you need
something to hurt for you

but it’s not enough that i gag for you,
you want me to break for you

and though my mouth
may hand them out—
it’s not my heart’s job
to take blows

i have this tendency to believe
that i only become more broken
as i crash into more obstacles
in life and in love

but the river reminds me
that water only becomes more pure
with every rock that tries to stop it

on the nights
when my eyes
bleed harder
than my heart—
you let your own
bleed out for me