I Thought You'd Care Poem by Vanessa Alvarez

My biggest mistake was simple and true:
Believing you'd care the same way I do.
I gave you my heart, my time, and my trust,
You gave me your silence, your cold and your dust.

I showed up with warmth, with hands open wide,
You stayed on the edge, too distant to try.
I listened, I lifted, I stayed through your storm,
But when I was drowning, you didn't perform.

I thought we were equal in kindness and grace,
But I was just filling an empty space.
You took what I offered, then drifted away,
While I stood there hoping you'd choose to stay.

Still, I won't harden, I won't let it win—
I'll care with my whole heart again and again.
But now I know better, I'll guard what I give,
And love those who show me how they want to live.