I ask too much, 

I know. 

Like the way the rain asks the windowpane to hold it without shattering, 

But I’m trying to understand, 

The silence between your words,

The pauses between your touch. 

I ask if you care, 

Not because I doubt you

But because sometimes your love wears camouflage, 

Because I’ve been taught

That people who stay also leave quietly. 

So I ask, and ask, again, 

Just to make sure you’re still here. 

I’m not trying to start a fire. 

I’m just trying to keep one lit. 

I don’t know why I care or why I can’t let go, 

Why do I crave your presence? 

Even when it stings. 

Why your laugh, your glances, 

Your messy, quiet love, 

Still feel like the safest place in the world that makes no sense. 

You say I talk in circles, 

But I’m walking a labyrinth

Built from all the times someone walked away, 

Without looking back. 

I’m sorry if I seem like I’m breaking all the time. 

It’s just that when I look at you, 

Something in me, 

Softens. 

And it terrifies me,

How right wrong can feel, 

When it’s yours.