Oh, The Lies We Tell Ourselves

I needed you to love me
but in a certain way,
you needed me to tolerate
the things you had to say.

I needed you to care for me
but not so much it wore me through,
you needed to live in a world in which
the only one I could have was you.

I told myself I needed you
and for a while, I did.
You told yourself it was justified;
you had made the highest bid.

I needed time to heal myself
you bandaged all my wounds
but when healing time was over
the blood poured out too soon.

So here we stand with scars picked fresh
and oozing with regret
all the things you said
the night you wish I hadn't left.

You wanted to be the one to conquer
my heart of ice and stone
and I believed it was you
until you had to conquer your own.