words to kill and words to heal | a poetry collection

"i love you"

"i love you",
that simple phrase,
yet i'd do anything to hear you say it.

i wish i knew what you were thinking.
am i undeserving of love?
are you afraid of how i'd react?

many have told me those words many times,
chanting them like a prayer.
but to me, they're nothing but empty vessels.

i want you to lie to me,
and satiate me with those three words,
"i love you".

a.