Photo by Teddy Kelley | https://unsplash.com/@teddykelley

it was me

selfish
insecure
unkind

i saw all of these things
in you
when it was me

i wanted love
but not the work
i was weary
and afraid

what if
i looked at myself
and didn’t like who i saw
staring back at me
with the stain of
so many years lived
but not lived

working on everyone
but myself

desperate to fill a void
by taking
while feigning giving

i’ve hid in the shadows
of ersatz wisdom
talking life, not living it

selfish
insecure
unkind