#reciprocation
loving with all of one’s heart is not for the faint of spirit.
it can be utterly exhausting to pour light and warmth into a world that rarely extends its hands in return. sometimes it feels as though i’m being drained drop by drop, each act of care siphoning fragments of my own energy, until i’m left hollow and searching for ways to restore what’s been spent—only for the cycle to begin again.
i often wonder if perhaps i’m too kind, if my tenderness teeters on the edge of self-sacrifice. but stopping isn’t in my nature. there are too many souls who deserve to feel the gentleness of genuine care, too many who have forgotten what it feels like to be held with understanding.
so i love, and i love immensely. i want to wrap others in warmth and safety because i know the ache of being cold and unseen. i want to breathe hope into weary hearts so they might remember their worth and keep moving forward.
yet quietly a part of me aches, wishing someone might one day pour into me with the same devotion i give so freely. i yearn to feel the very warmth i offer to others. but until that day comes, i will keep giving steadfastly, so that someone else’s doubts about being cared for might soften and fade into light.
so, i give.
i dream that one day, someone will recognize the way i love; not as weakness, but as the rare strength it takes to keep giving in a world that so often takes. someone who will meet my care with care of their own and see the universe i carry quietly behind my eyes.
love isn’t something i give to be returned. it’s something that lives in me, something that refuses to dim even when it’s met with silence. i’ve made peace with being the one who softens the edges of a hardened world, even if no one notices the hands that do the softening.
i was made to be gentle in a world that forgets softness.
i was made to remind others that light still exists, even when it flickers.
and maybe, one day someone will see that light and recognize it.
maybe they’ll reach for it; not because they need saving,
but because they want to stay.
Oct 19, 2025
Oct 19, 2025 at 11:30 PM UTC
and then the night drew near
the sun kissing the moon goodnight
stars singing the trees to sleep
the winter chasing the summer
autumn greeting spring
the birds and their bees
something something for everything
or so it goes
Oct 15, 2025
Oct 15, 2025 at 11:35 AM UTC
I don't know what you expect —
If you're demanding me to reciprocate,
Obliterating my freedom, then you extract
All the foundations of connection,
The thresholds of compassion,
All the holdings of collaboration,
Leaving nothing but a series of construction.
Aug 11, 2025
Aug 11, 2025 at 2:42 AM UTC
I ****** your fingers
As if they might remember me
Didn’t ask for much
And I came back
as always,
empty.
Aug 5, 2025
Aug 5, 2025 at 7:06 PM UTC
s.
s o n o r a ,
n.
n o t r i g h t n o w
a.
a m b u s y , c a n ' t t a l k
p.
please don't leave
d.
d o n ' t g e t a t t a c h e d s o f a s t
r.
rare is true attraction and rare is reciprocation. how quick you are to dismiss it
a.
am I to go on with my life as if you are not a steadying force? you will let me stumble
g.
g u e s s s o
.
.
.
n.
now is the end? love is irrational but you don't understand
Jul 19, 2025
Jul 19, 2025 at 5:58 PM UTC
If you have come to seek
Only consent & acceptance,
You will be poorly received
And denied at the entrance.
You come only to take
What you think you are entitled to,
As though it were not valuable
And as if it were freely offered.
In what you ask
There is no promise of reciprocation,
No hint that you will be grateful.
In your hunger for it,
The only guarantee
Is that you will want more.
You share no contentment,
No happy acts or jovial gestures.
The best thing for all of us
Is to deny you of our goodwill,
Perhaps it will cause you
To grow up
And be more mature.
If not,
It will at least mean the stability & security
Of our happiness & freedom.
Feb 10, 2025
Feb 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM UTC
I am terrified to fall in love with you
Know how easily I can break
Say it is worth the risk
Don't get how much is at stake
Got fantasies frolicking in skull
Pills do not make me feel as great as you
I don't dare succumb to effects
Fairytales are too good to be true
That little voice whispering
To try again and be brave
My longing is stifled by past events
When I last let my resolve cave
Can I find strength to take the plunge?
Leap off cliff to uncharted depths below?
Without harness or safety net to catch
Unwilling to allow myself to sink that low
Help cut tethers trapping me in this place
Give anything to feel free once more
My fear holds me captive inside a prison
I can't seem to find the door
You make falling appear easy
With snap of fingers head over heels
Icy heart has been frozen for so long
Can barely remember how being alive feels
I wish I could forget sorrow
Brought by mention of a familiar name
Remind myself that you are different
Still worry it will end the same
It does not seem fair for you to give your all
Equal effort expected in return
I am simply unable to reciprocate
Love and consideration for which you yearn
Sep 6, 2024
Sep 6, 2024 at 9:37 PM UTC
isn’t that I trust people too easily
there’s nothing wrong with trusting people
I just start expecting too much in return
like trust
++++++++++++++++++
I think my problem
is that I just desire
reciprocation
++++++++++++++++++
I don’t know if I’m able to give less
and still feel happy
but if I’m always giving and giving and giving
I feel like I deserve to receive
or at the very least
like I don’t deserve to give
Jun 19, 2023
Jun 19, 2023 at 4:17 PM UTC
sometimes,
i just don't know
how to get
other people
to listen to me
in return.
i give them
all my time,
all my love,
all my attention,
yet it just
feels like
i don't get
reciprocated
the same way
enough.
i need
a listening ear
and a shoulder
to cry on, too,
you know?
please
help me.
Nov 22, 2020
Nov 22, 2020 at 11:30 PM UTC
Surrending
Mind and soul
Wishing you
Gives sublime bliss
I wonder
How would it be
If you
Wish back
Everything about courtesy
Thanks
To the sacred breakthrough
Forever true
And once again
Here I'm
With a zen smile
Adherent joyfully
What could I ask for more?
Sep 18, 2020
Sep 18, 2020 at 1:31 AM UTC
one day someone will love you
he will remove your shirt
his hands will move over your skin
soft, fragile fingertips, safe, warm touch
you will sigh and he will enjoy the sound and sight of you
unfurling before him
my mistakes that clog my skin
my anger a bitter, pulsing monster
my love a ****** ****
but shouldn't it be me to rip the buttons of your shirt
let it fly to the floor
breathe in your skin
admire the view of your eyes closing as i
trailed red kisses over you
shouldn’t it be me who knew you better than he could?
and yes, i am not your typical lover
but i cannot imagine you’d want him
to be intimate with someone who could barely love you,
a tepid version of the love i would make you feel,
i’d let smiles overwhelm our intimacy,
but it will be him, not me, touching your skin like it's golden
you’ll never know that my love is heaven and skies,
and his is merely a shiny fracture of the sunlight i could give you
yet despite my desperate tries of declaring this all
you turn your head away from the sun, me, too bright
and crawl to your comfort, when you could stride to my sunlight
you will shiver in the shadows of his love
instead of basking in the heat of mine
Mar 15, 2020
Mar 15, 2020 at 10:44 AM UTC
Somewhere under
The blue sky
You were
Therefore I was
You are
Therefore I am
I will
.........
.........
If you will
Every cosmic saga
Begins, and
Ends or holds forever
In between
Those lines
Jun 26, 2019
Jun 26, 2019 at 5:03 AM UTC
Cortez, theyre just running through my mind
Like track and field junior year
You want to cyph before class, but i don’t think that’s for the best
Look in your ****** eyes, but you had to change into sweats
I remember that afternoon, it’s in my mind all the time
You gave me your hoodie and went home like routine
Snuck out the back door and forgot to take me
White Cortez, but they’re ***** on the sides
Dirt on your pants, but never did you mind
You’re so versatile,
how you build up your walls and know when to break them down ?
At 16, i never would’ve guessed youd actually ditch town
A city on lights, like do you know what you’re leaving?
Persuasion and ideas, you know I’m still here waiting
Connection is rare, and with you, it was waning
Black Cortez, cleaned it up on the sides
Fade into dark Caesar, never did i mind
You smelled like axe and gelato, you probably taste so sweet
In my head, there’s a sword fight where two ends never meet
I hope you’re passing your tests, or training your chest
I still have your hoodie and i wear it here and there
I washed it so many times, but i didn’t think you’d care
SEP, where they prayed for me,
I remember you spoke to me about your goals
You told me you wanted to have a relationship with God
I told you i wanted love, i was a fraud
Spending every day of the year, you were mine
you were a physical manifestation of everything that was bound to be
A physical manifestation of everything attracted to she
Classic Cortez, lit up and you ran into class
Never expected you to fall so fast
You could roam the earth and be who you are
I just don’t want you to ever run too far
Apr 5, 2019
Apr 5, 2019 at 1:23 PM UTC
***** wakes up
Before the sun rises
With a wish
To greet
Whom ***** believes
As the closed one
"Hold on"
Said the reality
Helplessly, ***** prayed for you
“Let the peace be with you”
Always
This could be, what silence is
Apr 1, 2019
Apr 1, 2019 at 9:20 PM UTC
So many poets write about their despair
Of not being loved back
"I'm so sad", they say
But at least they know what love is,
They've experienced the feeling
They've been caring,
And giving.
Do they know what I´d give
To love like they do...
"I'm heartbroken", they add
But do they know what it is
Not to have a heart that could be broken?
Mar 13, 2019
Mar 13, 2019 at 3:37 PM UTC
When you dream
A tree
And find
Him/Her watering
It's love
That simple
Feb 12, 2019
Feb 12, 2019 at 2:59 AM UTC
I don’t want you to learn what I am trying to learn to be an untruth:
That enduring through pain is somehow worth it at the chance of reciprocated love.
Please remember:
You are always enough.
Nov 12, 2018
Nov 12, 2018 at 1:58 PM UTC
Small print
What a way
To cheat another day
History has taught
How to respond
And Play
There's nothing to fear
But fear itself
Knowing this is wealth
Theres one word
A join of two
Reveals theres nothing had to do
Loophole
Loophole
A hole of loops
Infinite
Every loophole has a loophole
How significant
Thats why its called
Loop
Hole
Endless DNA
Theres just one name
That keeps it sane
The name lives to this day
John Hancock
Sign that sh*t
Big and bold
No fear
Showing that
No cowardice
Is within
Is clear
Let the loopholes
Noose the necks
Of those with bad intent
Now thats enough
Wasting thought on this
My mind is not for rent
Just remember
Boomerang
Three little birds that sang
Killed by the bell
Welcome to hell
Theres no one else to blame.
Sep 19, 2018
Sep 19, 2018 at 12:03 PM UTC
the word reciprocation
died of an unnatural death
it so required an in kind
responsive breath
too few understood
the dire straits it was in
not ever being returned
mutual oxygen's kin
as a consequence of the term
never receiving air
there ended the life
of its courteous fair
the coroner's dictionary
apportioned blame
at the feet of they who
knew not the name
Feb 16, 2018
Feb 16, 2018 at 8:26 PM UTC
Last month, i dreamt of you.
You painted me into a bright yellow when i was completely colored in blue.
Last week, i dreamt of you.
You made me smile and suddenly it was you who i always wanted to talk to.
Last night, i dreamt of you.
We walked hand in hand under the pink skies of a nearby avenue.
Tonight, I might dream of you.
Will you dream of me too?
Feb 4, 2018
Feb 4, 2018 at 8:29 PM UTC
You **** your teeth loudly,
Smack your lips on ravioli,
Whatever it is I taste of
You can't really say
Meanwhile I've had my face
pushed, mashed on your *****
trying to find life's meaning
with short tongue tight frenulum
Cursed I crave your ***
****** mane grows unkempt
Despite my attempt to
Get some head
...
Dead
Mar 27, 2017
Mar 27, 2017 at 6:46 PM UTC
Sometimes when I
briefly touch you
I want to sink into
the warmness of your skin
all toasty from that internal heater
you call a body an it's wonderful
how so much heat can come
from such a delicate frame
or maybe you are my delicacy
to be deliciously eaten
during times of crisis
I only have to think of
the slight curve
of your pink smile
to find warmth.
Jan 20, 2017
Jan 20, 2017 at 2:34 PM UTC