you gave
not just effort
but essence
you handed people pieces of yourself
that you couldn’t get back
because you thought
maybe this time
they’d see you

but they didn’t
they labeled what they didn’t understand
they twisted your depth into drama
your honesty into attack
your stillness into detachment
they took your light
then called you cold
when you asked for warmth in return

you kept thinking
if you just explained better
loved louder
softened more
they’d meet you halfway

but they were never walking toward you
they were standing still
expecting you to loop back
into what you’d already healed from
just to make them comfortable

and still
you stayed longer than you should’ve
you shrank when you knew better
you hoped against your own knowing

because you remembered who they could be
not who they showed you they were

you called it loyalty
but it was grief in disguise
grief that they would never choose to rise

you thought age would bring clarity
that experience would mean better choices
but no one tells you
that wisdom doesn’t stop the ache
it just makes it louder when you ignore it

you knew better
and that’s what hurts the most

you didn’t fall blindly
you walked back into the fire
eyes wide open
hoping maybe this time
you wouldn’t burn

but you did
and the pain isn’t just from them
it’s from you
from betraying your own evolution
for a connection that couldn’t hold
the weight of who you’ve become

it’s okay
this is part of it too
the slip
the return
the sacred loop
that shows you, again
how far you've come
by how far you no longer fit

you’re not cold
you’re not broken
you’re just done trying to be chosen
by people who only understand love
when it comes in the shape of their own wounds

grieve it
then leave it
not with anger
but with knowing

you outgrew them
long before they let go
you just needed one last reminder
of how small the cage really was

and now
you’re free again