i never knew how to love
unless it was sharp and suffocating
unless the walls closed in on us

i never knew how to love
unless the sky bled red
and the heart turned cold to touch

i never knew how to love peacefully, quietly
my love was a storm brewing, destructive and raging

my love was fierce and ferocious
scalding and burning

it was charring mysef to ashes
for you to rise as the phoenix

i never knew how to love
because i'd never been taught how to
without losing mysef in you

for some reason, i thought of a book character of mine while i wrote this 🥺💔