Ayrton

the one with no middle name

who wanted me to teach him how to draw.

Because you loved me, my trembling hands

gripped the firm iron bars of individuality for the first time.

It was nice to be alive, until it wasn't.

"But you need to just get over it, Miranda," you lovingly purred.

We ignored the broken mirrors in my psyche

& sickness was an ice cube we kicked under the fridge.

Because you loved me, you loved to discredit

the festering reality of my wounded consciousness

but I could not passively watch myself decay forever.

To whom it may concern,

love is not false pretense.

 

Jacob

the one with chronic nosebleeds

who brought me lemon candies & new books.

Because you loved, my apprehensive spirit

leapt bravely from the terrace of security.

I never once felt alone, until I did.

"But that's not like you, Miranda," you calmly asserted.

You kept me on a pedestal of improbable immaculacy

& to dissatisfy youu meant to decimate the both of us.

Because you loved me, you loved to dictate

what stars I could follow home

but the night sky belongs to me.

To whom it may concern,

love is not obedience.

 

Forrest

the one with sweaty hands

who always sang to me but could never quite carry the tune.

Because you loved me, my battered sense of self

nestled in a warm chaise of validity.

I had never known a hope so grand, until it was gone.

"But I haven't gotten to do this in so long, Miranda," you affectionately pleaded.

You waged war on my sworn ideals

& your end game was my inescapable acquiescence.

Because you loved me, you loved to scorch

the walls of my territory with a flame sweetly masked by adoration

but i rebuilt before I choked on your smoke.

To whom it may concern,

love is not submission.

 

If you are to love me,

When you love me,

However you can love me,

Because you love me,

Love who I am.