i look for you in the faces on the street
i ache for you in the songs that i sing

an out i didn't take
the memories unmade
a life we didn't live

he hurt me
but i hurt you
that's just the way it is

I’m glad that I stayed
And scraped at your door like a dog.

You taught me that I should spare my nails
For those that wouldn’t let them start to bleed.

i love you like the sun loves the moon—
too far apart
to share the same sky.

you wanted stillness,
a life with roots.
i wanted movement,
a life with wings.

we tried to meet
in the middle,
but love
couldn’t bridge
the distance.

so i let you go,
not because i stopped loving you,
but because staying
meant losing
ourselves.

some love shines forever,
but ours was the kind
that had to end
to set us free.

how do you measure love
when your heart is a wildfire
& theirs is a candle?

i want a love
that burns my skin
just to prove it’s real,
but they tell me
that warmth
is enough.

maybe i want too much—
a love that spills over,
a love that consumes,
but isn’t that what love is
supposed to feel like?

because if it’s not desperate,
if it’s not all-encompassing,
then how do i know
it’s real?

they call it "too intense,"
but all i hear
is "not enough."

I'd rather be judged and burned,
Than to paint myself as a nun.
The only way I could escape,
Was to show you my mistake.

You bathe to call yourself a saint,
Truth is I made you great.
Lost myself to make things right,
Villainizing me let's you sleep at night.

Indebt to the armor below par,

    I soldered myself a new one.

           I was enamored with the illusion,

                      But...

                        ­         Alone in my reflection.