What Is Love?

That four-letter word we can't spell
That four-letter word we can feel
That four-letter word we all yearn for
That four-letter word we all hear
That four-letter word we all fear

Back then, my heart & soul were blind
Believing everything through those rose-tinted glasses
Eyes blinded by them faint erratic flashes
I grew up thinking that it was a sin
I grew up thinking that it was a wolf dressed in sheep's skin
I grew up thinking that it was similar to abuse
Lived in this world with every brutal bruise

Now that I'm older, learning a lesson about love is a blessing
When you love someone genuinely, it'll start progressing
Love is not equivalent to obsession
Being possessed & oppressed by someone who doesn't love you leads to depression
Now that I'm out of that nightmare, I've learnt to be the right person by loving myself first
No man deserves me at my best if he can’t love me at my worst

Another thing I've also learnt is that family requires love, not blood
After being dragged through the mud
By the ones I once considered family
They've given me grief and disloyalty
I don't need sympathy
I need empathy

Love has no gender, religion or colour
Surely requires no favour

Empathy In Exhaustion

All these years, I've been drowning in self-neglect
It's about time I self-reflect
All these years, I've been exhausted from all the empathy I've been carrying, making me forget who I am
Showing empathy feels like a scam

Now I find it difficult to open up my heart

When I do, I get ridiculed and then ripped apart
Since when did these motherfuckers consider bullying art
This is why I'm becoming more selective
Trust is a rarity but it can be defective

All this empathy is making me exhausted
These motherfuckers shouldn't be trusted
Chew me up then spit me out
Leading me to self-doubt

Don't ask me why I'm heartless
Expressing empathy has led me to emptiness
Danger is creeping in my chest
Expressing empathy has led me to fatigue, my feelings remained unaddressed