I tried the way I knew how Hands shaking, timing off Said the right thing in the wrong tone Showed up late, but I still showed up You were carrying yesterday I was fixing tomorrow fast Every step felt misaligned Every miss just added to the past I could feel the effort vanish Like it never crossed the room I kept reaching through the static Never knowing what would bloom You don’t yell, you don’t leave You just hold your breath and freeze And I start wondering quietly If trying’s hurting more than me Tell me when I’m getting warmer Not just when I miss the mark I don’t need it to be perfect I just need a spark in the dark I’m not asking you to pretend I’m not asking you to lie Just show me where the door is So I don’t stop trying to find it I brought you touch, you needed words I brought solutions, you needed time I did the thing you asked me for But missed the feeling underneath the line Your face said “this isn’t it Even when your mouth said “thanks I filed it under don’t do that Another reach I couldn’t land Now every move feels calculated Every gesture second-guessed The hesitation shows through everything And you feel it, you trust me less I’m still here, I’m still trying But I’m running out of maps Every wrong turn feels like proof I don’t know how to come back So tell me when I’m getting warmer Not just everything I break Tell me “that one mattered Even if it didn’t take the pain away I don’t need you to carry me I don’t need you to explain Just point me toward the fire Before the reaching turns to shame And I know you’re tired of teaching Tired of having to be clear But silence doesn’t make me wiser It just teaches me to disappear Nobody knows you completely Not the way you need right now That’s not a failure of loving That’s just two nervous systems learning how So tell me when I’m getting warmer Let the trying mean something again Not “do better,” not “you should know Just “this is where I feel you reach me, friend I’ll keep showing up imperfect If I know the path exists Love doesn’t die from missing once It dies when reaching finally quits. Trying isn’t the problem Trying alone is
