Phantom Love

People laugh at me

They scoff at me

They call me naïve and needy

They say I cling to images and phantoms

They tell me you are not real

You were merely created as a coping device

They say you only exist in my mind

Your comforting presence I feel isn’t real

The essence of you does not exist

I only imagine the love I long for

Because I’m not strong enough to actually possess it

I’m not intelligent enough to actually grasp the concept

I’m simply don’t feel enough to actually appreciate it

They tell me to place my faith in them instead

To seek the love in them and follow their ways instead of yours

They are here; they are real

They have real arms to hold and real hearts to love

They are the ones I should place my hope in

Yes, they are as real to me as you are

Their arms are real

Their words are real

Their touch is real

But their words turn cold and killing

When they feel their own pain

Their arms push away more than they hold

Their love burns when it turns to hate

So, I run to you for solace when they run away

I turn to you for love when they turn me away

I seek for your peace when mine is stripped away

Yes, I do cling to your presence

Your love surrounds me more than theirs can

Your essence comforts me more than they can

So, let them laugh at me

Let them scoff at me

I may be naïve and needy in their eyes

But it’s the only way for me to survive

When there are so many of them in this world