Abundance, Not Need
https://poems.culturing.net/2026/10/24/abundance-not-need/
What terrible things they have made you believe
in the name of care, in the name
of their own care, for you, but really for them...
They don't care, not really, not if what you need
falls outside of their paradigm, the one
where they get to be big, no matter what happens to you.
True care comes from a surplus of strength,
nowhere else, so how dare they commiserate
and expect to make anything better? Love
is not a snuggle in grimy streets but a daring adventure
requiring extraordinary strength and devotion to avoid a wreck.
I will not wreck. I will see love through, and I will not
bring any on board who cannot hold their own in a storm,
which cannot be avoided, as wave-tossed hearts grapple
over where to find land.
I am not a storehouse that fills a need
or a meal to satisfy hunger. I am a man,
and until this is understood, I walk proudly
and give no devotion, but spare no generosity either.
I give from abundance, not need.