Held by One Heart

For a while,
I thought I could keep us alive
by trying harder.

So I kept reaching out.
I kept making space.
I kept finding ways to understand
the distance between us
without asking too much from you.

I held on to the smallest things.

A reply.
A moment of warmth.
A sign that you still cared
in the same way I did.

And whenever something felt different,
I told myself to be patient.

I told myself you were busy.
I told myself you needed time.
I told myself that if I stayed long enough,
we would find our way back
to each other.

But I was the only one
still trying to find the way.

You did not ask me to leave.
You did not ask me to stay.

You simply became harder to reach,
while I kept standing
in the same place,
hoping you would turn around.

I did not stop caring about you.

I just became tired
of carrying every conversation,
every hope,
every reason for us
to still mean something.

I became tired of feeling like
I had to keep proving
that what we had
was worth saving.

Maybe you were already letting go
in ways I did not want to see.

Maybe I was holding on
because I was afraid
that letting go would mean
I had failed you.

But this is not giving up.

It is letting love exist
without forcing one heart
to keep the entire connection alive.