External Love Poem by Oreoluwa Sanni

They say you can't change the people around you.

But you can change who you have around.

And sometimes you can't change who's around you.

But you can change who you are when they're around.

Or and perhaps also you can just ask them to change how they are in relations to when you're around,
if that was possible.

You have to watch who you let around you, because people giving could be a means of control,
so be careful.

You don't know where their from,
You don't know who they are,
You don't know who they're loyal to,
Or if or when they'll turn on you.

Who's who nowadays?
I've lost track,
I prefer to be alone
Cause enough's done that.

How all this began is still unclear
and to where it's heading is like a fog meeting a mirage.

One seems like it could be demystified when the air's all cleared.

The other you're unsure of
on if it's actually there.

I mean no disrespect when I say this,
But to the externals,
As long as you're not a part of my internals,
I deem you detachable.

It's nothing personal.
Except when it is.

That doesn't mean I don't love you,

But to you it should be what it is,
External Love,

Not a part of your internals,
nothing within
so therefore,
detachable.

Don't mistake it for what it's not.
Cause it is what it is at the end of the day,
no matter how much.

It is just that,
External love.