Believe

The first time I got told "I love you",

I believed it

Because how could the one person who is supposed to care for you lie?

The second time I got told "I love you",

I still believed it

Even after hearing the abusive words leave their mouths

The third time I got told "I love you",

I believed it more than the previous times

Even after having my dreams crushed by my lover

The fourth time I got told "I love you",

I cried

My friends explained to me that the love I was believing was not love

The next time I got told "I love you,"

I was cautious, even if it wasn't said by him

For I stopped believing in those words

After some time and I got told "I love you,"

I felt confident in believing

For this love was caring and supportive

This love picked me up when feeling down, 

This love wasn't jealous when around others,

This love didn't put me down to make themselves feel better

This was love

And I'm sharing this poem with you all going through these times

Because I love you