to the lost boys [poem]

you have always been someone’s boy
someone’s hero
someone else’s love
you are the boy afraid to let loose your crocodile tears
and feel it
all of it
every little hurt
because you seem to have forgotten just how human you are
you are your mother’s selfish son
the believer in getting what you want
because of course that’s what you need
and no one’s bothered to explain to you the difference
so you keep grabbing
keep pulling
and taking
and taking
and not giving back
because that’s how this works
look here superman
maybe she didn’t need you to save her
maybe instead of your
caped courage
she wanted your
heroic humility
and a chance to fly at your side
instead of being swept up into your arms like some
damsel in distress
but hey
you were just trying to save the day
that’s what heroes are for
but lovers
you’re not sure what lovers are for
but you’re willing to try
maybe you grew up in a home where love was
a post-it note in your lunchbox
and family game night
or maybe
love has always been a trap
where people dig into your tender parts
and sink their teeth into your suffering
or maybe
you don’t know what love is
having avoided vulnerability in an effort to be a man about it
you’ve always been
someone else’s someone
instead of being
you for you
and this
this is why
you’ve always felt so lost