Need

I don’t need this

To be seen but not heard
To be felt only skin deep
To pretend that all that matters is this

I don’t need this

To be raw and pain to the touch
To hear phantom excuses that never come
To feel defective or broken like this

I don’t need this

To be strong for all the wrong people
To be brave for the wrong reasons
To be not me to do this

I need this

To be understood beyond language
To be engulfed by love a league away
To pretend that all that matters is this

I need this

To be held together with more than lust
To hear voices attached to human hearts
To feel this, too, is

I need this

To be weak for all the right people
To be scared for the right reasons
To be me to do this

— Melisa Im