It turns out
I didn’t love her enough
We were not lovers
We made no promises
I liked her company
She liked mine
But it turns out
I did not love her enough
To erase all the ways
She did not love herself
All the times she wanted
And did not get
All the people she desired
But could not keep
And I tried, oh I tried
To be a friend to her
But nobody had ever
Loved her enough
For her to feel worthy
She didn’t know what
It would look like
But imagined it would
Erase memories of a distant mother
Anger over a silent father
Fear of being alone
That somehow it would
Start her life over
Let her forget or reinvent
Leave behind regrets
It never occurred to her
To ask for what she wanted
Besides, what would love look like
To a soul who had
Never loved
Her own small
Beautiful self?
