POEM: Loved Me Quiet

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I was easiest to love
when I apologised for needing anything.
When I said “it’s fine”
before anyone had the chance to disappoint me.
When I swallowed hurt
like it was part of being mature.
When I gave without counting
and called exhaustion kindness.
People loved how little space I took up.
How I never complained.
How I understood everything.
How I made their lives softer
while disappearing inside my own.
But love built on my silence
was never really love.
It was comfort.
Convenience.
Access.
And the moment I started asking
to be considered too
some people stopped recognising me at all.