Standing Alone: Love Addiction

— Samantha Trionfo

Same person, different bodies.
Searching for home in tangled limbs and erratic behavior.
Hollow sweet nothings wrapped in pretty paper.
Crinkled, crumpled, and cherished too much.

Remember the hands that held onto mine
as we danced beneath the gaslight.
Remember the eyes that turned cold,
the silence that fell,
the warmth and the bitter,
the commonplace condemnation.

“Why don’t you want me?
Am I too much?
What is the trick I haven’t yet learned?
How does one find, how does one keep, how does one stay?
Please stay.”  

Clichés and platitudes,
“love yourself first.”

But what is my perception of love?

No words of wisdom,
no sage advice.
The last drop in my bucket of masochism finally dried up.

I am my home,
I am the love of my life,
I am the safe haven, 
I am the shoulder to cry on,
I am the inspiration to move forward,
I am the strength to stay.

Thank you all for the lessons.
It made me strong enough to seek comfort in standing alone.

Photo + Edits: Scott Church / Models: Rachel Berkey, Tylor Heagy / Concept: Samantha Trionfo