being a hopeless romantic is
a tragedy sometimes.
you’re aching for love.
it screams in your throat.
so, you search for it in

love movies, tv shows, music,
the sound of rain, cafés, couples
on the street holding hands walking
towards the sun, a stranger eating alone
in a coffee shop as they're
reading the odyssey, the way
how city lights burn in the dark

at 5am; you assume anyone that
you meet is your soulmate because
you both have similarities in whatever
makes your hearts burn with desire.
you’ve already imagined what
life would be like if they loved you
before you could tell them your name.
the moment you see that they’re not who
you dreamed of, you soon realize:

not everyone around you
has the heart to let love pour in
their blood like sunlight. not everyone
welcomes it into their bodies.
loneliness rises to the
surface of your chest like water.
you eventually break your own heart
because you thought that they
felt your passion start a fire in their soul.

you feel yourself collapsing into ruins,
yet this longing for love is addicting.
you’re always going to crave it, no
matter much it hurts to know
that some people will never love you back.