There’s something painful in the way I wait for people’s hearts to change. As if affection has an end And every closeness only bends. One moment I can almost speak About the softer parts of me. The next I’m pulling back again, Afraid of how these stories end. Because uncertainty cuts deep, A slow erosion underneath. And I have watched love lose its light Without a warning, overnight. So now I love in careful ways, In measured words and slight delays. Enough to feel, not enough to fall, Not enough to lose it all.