I Mistook Attention For Love

This book was not written out of bitterness, but out of clarity.

For a long time, I believed that attention meant love-that being noticed, texted back sometimes, or kept close without commitment was enough to justify how much of myself I gave away. I mistook proximity for care, familiarity for intention, and silence for something I could fix if I just tried harder.

These poems are about the years I spent waiting to be chosen by people who never planned to choose me. They are about lowering my standards, questioning my worth, and slowly losing pieces of myself in the hope that love could be earned through patience or self-sacrifice. They are also about the moment when that hope finally broke-and the truth stepped in.

What I learned is simple, but it took me a long time to accept: when someone does not care about who you are, what you love, or what you have to say, they do not care about you. No amount of understanding, loyalty, or self-erasure can turn attention into love.

This book is for anyone who has waited, excused, or endured because they thought being close was better than being alone. It is for those who confused longing with connection and felt guilty for wanting more. And it is for the version of myself who believed she had to change to be worthy of staying.

Know that there is someone out there who will love you, don't settle. You're worthy to be loved fully and completely.