could you love me

without me having to beg for it

don’t let me lick it

from jagged-edged knives

when it should have been served to me

on a silver platter.

i shouldn’t have to beg

on my knees, see how they bled

(could it be easy this once?)

could you please love me

without me having to beg for it

as gently as the moon

bathing the slumbering city in moonlight?

like the ocean

that keeps coming back

every now and then

to kiss the feet of the shore?

(am i asking for too much?)

could you please love me

without me having to beg for it

don’t lock me out

in the winter wasteland

then maybe 

i won’t have to burn this town 

to the ground

to warm my brittle heart

(don’t i deserve this?)

could you please love me

without me having to beg for it

or do i have to dilute myself 

like i was some bitter tonic

or break myself into a million pieces

put them in a pretty gift box with a bow

all for me to be palatable to you?

(is it really that hard?)

October 30, 2023