I don’t want to love you anxiously,

Because I’m afraid of being lonely,

I want to love you bravely,

And be there for you, as you are for me.

I want to love you fiercely,

Knowing that we’re here, not because we have to be,

Knowing I’ll be just fine without you, and you without me,

Wishing you the best, whatever that may be.

I don’t want to love you shyly,

From behind all these veils of pretending to be,

I want to love you with trust and candor and honesty,

I don’t want to love you perfectly,

Because perfect is something I’ll never be.

I don’t want to love you unfairly,

With expectations of who you should be to me.

I want to love you confidently,

Knowing that if we part we can still be,

Happy for one another and free.

I want to love you selflessly,

And so I must love myself a bit selfishly,

Take some of my love and keep it for me,

I need to love me courageously,

Because then I won’t need to love you anxiously.

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Apprentice Editor: Kathryn Muyskens / Editor: Travis May

Photo: Don/ Flickr