Question

You told me you loved me
like it was something steady,
like it would wait.

I told you
I couldn’t date right now
not because I didn’t care,
but because life was heavy
and I was trying to hold it together
with shaking hands.

I thought love meant patience.
I thought love meant
“okay, I’ll stay.”

But three days later
you were already moving on,
like I was just a pause button
you got tired of pressing.

Funny how a breakup
is a test too
not of who leaves,
but who waits
when staying is hard.

You said you loved me.
Apparently love has a
three-day limit.

Crazy to think
we could’ve stayed friends,
could’ve laughed,
could’ve found our way back
when I was ready.

Because I did love you.

Now all I have
is the echo of your words
and the lesson you left behind:
sometimes people don’t fail at loving
they just fail at staying.

And you failed me.