I don’t think
I’m asking for much.

Just something steady.
Something returned.

To not be the only one
holding it together.

To not feel
like I’m the place someone comes
after everything else is done.

I want to be chosen
without having to earn it
over and over again.

Without proving
I’m worth staying for.

There was a time
I thought I knew
what that felt like.

Or maybe
I just believed I did.

Now it’s harder to name.

It shouldn’t be this difficult
to recognize something
that’s supposed to be mutual.

To feel it
without questioning
if it’s real.

I find myself
trying to remember

what it’s like
to be met
and not carried alone.

To be wanted
without having to reach first
every time.

And the quiet truth is
I don’t even know anymore
what that looks like

when it’s real

or if I’ve ever had it
at all.