You don't have to pulse faster
Anytime someone smiles at you
And it's a real, true smile
The kind that makes eyes shine
And noses crinkle

You don't have to pour your soul
Over to everyone who gives you
A second of their attention
A conversational transgression
You let yourself go too much
With even a simple "How are you?"

You don't have to love every man
Because one didn't or couldn't, you
Your body is not a playground
Meant for everyone else's enjoyment
Their fingers pawing at your ribcage
Like monkey bar rungs, from one
To the next, to the next, to the next
And back again

Not every sweet word should send
You swooning into a careless daydream
Where you forget who's waiting for you at home.
At home,
At home, a man who would never cheat you
Out of an ounce of love even if he wanted to
Because hurting you is the last thing
On his ******* agenda
And you've had this penciled into yours since
The first time he placed his lips
Against your forehead and told you he loved you
A man, who would have given anything
Just to hear your laugh fill a room
Or see you every morning from across
The blankets and pillows
And still find you ever just as beautiful
As the first time he slept next to you.
Who brings you peppermint tea
When he knows you're stressed, and it helps
Calm the quiver in your stomach
From all the anxiety you cause for yourself

You're a mess maker, heartbreaker

One time he told you that love is a garden
That you have to choose to tend it
Or let it be overgrown with problems
And you were too stupid to understand
What it meant, until you realized you were
Planting seeds in someone else's.