This is the second in a series of essays based on a writing prompt.
2. The Unrequited love poem: How do you feel when you love someone who does not love you back?
https://thinkwritten.com/365-creative-writing-prompts/
It felt like I was standing on a diving board.
Blindfolded.
I didn’t know if there was water in the pool or not.
I could jump.
The water could be cool, clear and welcoming.
Or I could hit rock bottom.
I could back away, back off the diving board.
And go back to not knowing you.
Sometimes it felt like you were next to me.
Other times it felt like you were somewhere else.
Maybe sitting in a deck chair, suntanning.
Sometimes you seemed to care.
Other times you were cold.
It turns out you were smarter than me.
You understood us both better than I understood myself.
We’d cling to each other in the water, dragging each other down.
We’d both drown in murky waters.
You wanted to control me.
I wanted to love you.
So I backed off the diving board.
I walked away.
I left you standing, eyes uncovered, clearly seeing what could have been.
Did you regret not talking me into jumping?
I decided I didn’t care.
Because in the end I loved myself.
I loved myself more than I wanted to love you.
