I can't really say I’m surprised
Or even that I’m disappointed.
But,
The love I was offered before we started
Had me feeling like I was appointed
Had me feeling like I was chosen
Had me feeling like I was important
Like I mattered, you know?
I bought into your promise,
Bought into your proposition,
Thinking it was a proposal.
Your silver tongue made it difficult
To see that all I was being offered was Fool's Gold.
I was just another asset,
Just a product for you to "invest in",
Another prospect for you to exploit.
My value to you was held only
In what you could gain from loving me.
The love I was delivered was different.
It had no warmth, no humanity.
It was inorganic, unnatural, used
Like Currency.
Purely transactional.
Acquiring your love required labour,
But that labour was never fully compensated.
© Thokoza B. Lushaba
Matriculant 2020
