Don’t – A collaborated poem about love and relationships

A friend of mine wrote this one verse poem, which to me is absolutely fantastic, the style for one, and most definitely the way it allows you to fall into the trap so clearly sprung in the last line.

Don’t

Don’t hold my hand in yours
but still look somewhere else

Don’t kiss me on the lips
and tell lies with yours as well

Don’t tell me that you’ll need me
when we both know that you won’t

Don’t tell me that you love me
when you want a jump

Don’t use me as a crutch, a spare,
any port in a storm will do.

Don’t think of me as a back up plan
whilst waiting for someone new.

Don’t think I’ll wait for you forever.
I have done my waiting for you.

Don’t think these words are for you.
You are wrong and always were.

Afer a few weeks of readng and re-reading this poem I had the urge to write the next verse of the poem for her, and offered it to her as a gift, she liked it and so, with her consent, I am placing both verses on here.

Don’t hold their hand in yours
while I look somewhere else

Don’t kiss them on the lips
while I imagine yours on mine

Don’t tell them that you need them
when my heart aches for you

Don’t use me as a crutch, a spare
even though I always let you

Don’t think of yourself as a backup plan
when you have always been my first

Don’t think of waiting forever for them
when I am waiting for you

Don’t think these words are not for you
You fool! they always were!

Now in this second verse it really complicates things as there are two clear relationships going on, the first is from the point of view of the person who wrote the verse, looking at another person and painfully in love with them, wishes that they would even notice them. The other is that of the person they talk about, who, it seems is blindly in love with another, third person, who uses and abuses this person, and the writer of the poem can see this clearly, yet yearns to be abused themselves, just for the recognition and chance of love.

Thank you for writing this Anna, it allowed both our talents to shine.