❦ . . . ?????'? ???????

i used to think love was measured by
how long you were willing to stay.

so i stayed.

through uncertainty that disguised itself
as "bad timing."

through apologies that promised
tomorrow would be different.

through every version of you that
wasn't ready to love me
the way i needed to be loved.

i called it ????????.

and ????.

ㅤㅤ i never realized i was slowly
ㅤㅤㅤteaching myself how little
ㅤㅤㅤi was allowed to ask for.

ㅤㅤㅤevery time you pulled away,
ㅤㅤㅤi convinced myself distance
ㅤㅤㅤwasn't ?????????.

ㅤㅤㅤevery time you hesitated,
ㅤㅤㅤi called it ????
ㅤㅤㅤinstead of unwillingness.

ㅤㅤㅤevery time you chose
ㅤㅤㅤeverything else before me,
ㅤㅤㅤi believed my turn
ㅤㅤㅤwould eventually come.

ㅤㅤㅤbecause i loved not only
ㅤㅤㅤthe person you were—

i loved the person
i believed you were
ㅤ????????.

ㅤㅤㅤi celebrated every small improvement
ㅤㅤㅤas though it were proof
ㅤㅤㅤthat we were moving toward
ㅤㅤㅤthe same ??????.

i never stopped to ask
whether that future
still included me.

ㅤㅤㅤlooking back...

ㅤㅤㅤi wasn't building
ㅤㅤㅤa relationship.

ㅤㅤㅤi was building
ㅤㅤㅤa version of ???.

ㅤㅤㅤpatiently.

ㅤㅤㅤcarefully.

ㅤㅤㅤloving you through mistakes
ㅤㅤㅤyou hadn't outgrown.

forgiving wounds
you hadn't learned
not to create.

ㅤㅤㅤthinking someday all the lessons
ㅤㅤㅤwe survived together
ㅤㅤㅤwould be the basis
ㅤㅤㅤof the life we'd share.

ㅤㅤㅤthen one day...

ㅤㅤㅤyou became that person.

ㅤㅤㅤyou learned
ㅤㅤㅤhow to communicate.

ㅤㅤㅤyou learned
ㅤㅤㅤ???????????.

ㅤㅤㅤyou learned
ㅤㅤㅤhow to stay.

ㅤㅤㅤyou became gentle
ㅤㅤㅤwith someone's heart.

ㅤㅤㅤyou became everything
ㅤㅤㅤi spent years hoping
ㅤㅤㅤyou would be.

ㅤㅤㅤjust not with ????.

???? ?? ??? ????
?? ??? ???????? ??? ???.

ㅤㅤㅤnot watching someone
ㅤㅤㅤmove on—

ㅤㅤㅤwatching them become
ㅤㅤㅤthe person you always believed
ㅤㅤㅤthey could be.

ㅤㅤㅤfor someone else.

ㅤㅤㅤshe never met the version
ㅤㅤㅤthat disappeared for days.

ㅤㅤㅤshe never wondered
ㅤㅤㅤwhether she was asking
ㅤㅤㅤfor too much.

ㅤㅤㅤshe never had to teach you
ㅤㅤㅤthe language of
ㅤㅤㅤ???????????.

ㅤㅤㅤby the time she arrived...

ㅤㅤㅤyou were already
ㅤㅤㅤ??????.

ㅤㅤㅤsometimes i wonder
ㅤㅤㅤif my role in your story
ㅤㅤㅤwas never meant
ㅤㅤㅤto be the ending.

ㅤㅤㅤmaybe i was the chapter
ㅤㅤㅤwhere you learned
ㅤㅤㅤwhat love required.

ㅤㅤㅤthe mistake
ㅤㅤㅤthat taught you
ㅤㅤㅤhow not to repeat it.

ㅤㅤㅤthe person who loved you
ㅤㅤㅤwhile you were still learning
ㅤㅤㅤhow to love.

ㅤㅤㅤand perhaps that's why
ㅤㅤㅤletting go hurt
ㅤㅤㅤso deeply.

ㅤㅤㅤnot because i lost you.

ㅤㅤㅤbut because i watched
ㅤㅤㅤsomeone else receive
ㅤㅤㅤthe version of you
ㅤㅤㅤi had been waiting for
ㅤㅤㅤall along.

ㅤㅤㅤit took me
ㅤㅤㅤa long time
ㅤㅤㅤto understand
ㅤㅤㅤthat this wasn't
ㅤㅤㅤa reflection
ㅤㅤㅤof my worth.

ㅤㅤㅤpeople don't always
ㅤㅤㅤbecome better
ㅤㅤㅤbecause they meet
ㅤㅤㅤthe right person.

ㅤㅤㅤsometimes they become better
ㅤㅤㅤbecause they finally grow
ㅤㅤㅤinto the lessons
ㅤㅤㅤsomeone else spent years
ㅤㅤㅤtrying to teach them.

ㅤㅤㅤi just happened
ㅤㅤㅤto be that someone.

and maybe
the cruelest kind
ㅤof heartbreak
ㅤㅤisn't loving
ㅤㅤㅤthe wrong person.

ㅤㅤㅤmaybe it's loving
ㅤㅤㅤthe right person...

ㅤㅤㅤat the wrong chapter
ㅤㅤㅤof their life.