there’s this unspoken rule that we follow to the letter
don’t talk about it
don’t poke at it
pretend it isn’t true
but it is
we all want to be seen
heard
known for who we truly are
and appreciated, loved, respected
we want the right someone to see us
the right niche
we all want to belong, somewhere, with someone
but we pretend it isn’t true
because it’s embarrassing
or makes us sound selfish
juvenile
wanting “attention”
but it isn’t like that
you know that
i know that
we want another to look in our direction
and value what we have to offer
as a human
for people to stand around our grave when we’re gone
our funeral procession
to be proof that we mattered to somebody
but more than that
we want someone to tell us while we’re alive
and mean it
am i naive to believe that life wouldn’t hurt so much if we didn’t hurt each other?
if we truly took a moment, got out of our heads, and saw each other?
truly heard one another?
am i naive to believe that being honest
would make us stronger?
i guess i’ll start
by growing thicker skin
because the truth of the matter is
a lot of people don’t see you
they see who they want you to be
and then get upset when you’re not that person
but that’s a discussion for another day
i guess i’ll start
by saying, yeah, i want to be seen
not at the cost of my soul
but for who i am
i want to belong
don’t you?
