Dear Love,

dear love,

you are a nightmare

dressed as a miracle.

you are misleading.

you are troublesome.

but somehow,

you always seem beautiful.

you always seem to pull me in

with a mask that i cannot see past.

when i cannot keep myself afloat,

you are a lifeboat

signaling in the distance

but what i find aboard is not a hero,

not the answer to my prayers,

no, what i find is rejection,

betrayal,

lies.

love takes my hand,

crushes it in its palms,

and throws me overboard.

i am swallowed by the cold waters

of loneliness

of sorrow,

until you take my hand again,

but this time

there is no pain,

there is no sorrow,

there is only comfort,

a soft embrace that only you can provide.

but this, you see,

this is why i cannot trust you,

this is why i am wary,

sometimes you take my hand gently,

but sometimes your hand touches my chest,

only to crush my heart.

i refuse to take the chance

of a broken heart,

even with the possibility

of a gentle embrace.

sincerely,

a broken lover