please dont expect too much from me

a poem

you say,
you’ve got this,
and I smile
because I’m supposed to,
because it’s easier than saying
I don’t know if I do.

you call me strong
like it’s a blessing,
not a burden I never asked to carry.
you name me reliable,
not realizing
how many times I’ve wanted to disappear
and didn’t,
just so I wouldn’t let you down.

you expect the world from me —
and I give it,
until there’s nothing left
but a quiet shaking
behind a practiced voice,
a pulse of panic
beneath a calm smile.

expectation is a soft thing
at first —
a hand on your shoulder,
a light in the distance.
but it grows sharp with time,
turns into a mirror
you’re forced to face
every time you fall short
of the person they think you are.

they cheer for the version of you
that keeps showing up.
not the one that cries at night.
not the one that stays silent.
not the one that breaks
in private,
where belief can't reach.

and maybe that’s the danger,
that people love your potential
more than your pain,
your promise
more than your presence.

I want to be enough
without having to prove it.
I want to be seen
when I’m still.
when I’m scared.
when I’m quiet.

so if you believe in me,
believe in all of me —
even the parts
that can’t meet your hopes.
even the days
I fail to rise.

because the sky is heavy
when you’re the one
they’ve been waiting on
to shine.