This is how to hate
the one you love

take all you can’t stand
about yourself
and pour it into
their listening ear
pour it in, pour it in
year after year
take their beautiful heart
that wants to hear
and fill it with the pain
you cannot bear to bear
until all that stands
before your eyes
is a version of you
you deeply despise;

this is how to hate
the one that you love
this is how to create
a golem to get rid of

and when you’ve lost
all that you held dear
when you’ve broken faith
through uncertainty and fear
you can be alone alone alone
until another comes near
that is ready, willing and able
to take it in, to be sincere
again and again and again

or

find the hidden light
you’ve buried deep inside
and pour a little of that
until what’s amplified
are these wondrous strengths
that have been buried within
these beautiful, shining treasures
that you might begin
to see your love before your eyes
a beacon bright beneath the skies
more capable of holding
the secret weight you still must shed
but as a caring, living embrace instead

this is how not to come to hate
the one who holds your love
and see yourself within their eyes
a strong person to be proud of
and do the same for them,
your precious, sacred, solitary gem
again and again and again.