Labels placed, roles assigned,
yet we never spoke in pet names.

I thought our hearts aligned—
they never did.

I loved you like a poet,
you loved me like a boy.

I left too much unsaid,
said too much I shouldn’t have.

We cared—no doubt—
but I loved you with my soul,
while you loved me with your mind.

I swore love could change you,
as if devotion could rewrite a heart.

I willed it into existence,
but love is no wish to be granted.

I turned your every action into poetry,
painting beauty where there was none.

I saw what I longed for,
not what was real.

I loved you.
You loved the idea of me.