Love is a disease
It’s always fatal
There’s no cure
If you catch it
There’s no hope for you

The first symptoms are standard:
Dizziness,
Increased heart rate,
Shortness of breath,
Inability to speak.
At this point,
You have a chance to be cured
You must reason with yourself
Find their flaws, find your own
You must fight against the disease

The next stage is painful.
Thoughts of them creep into every crevice of your brain
You feel euphorically happy,
Then heartbreakingly sad
You feel like you’re walking on air.
You don’t realize that it is glass
Which will shatter,
And cut you with the truth.

The fatal stage has begun.
Your heart has been ripped out of your chest,
To leave only a bleeding hurt behind.
You can’t function.
You can’t pretend you’re okay anymore.
Their face mocks you in your dreams.
The need to be with them overwhelms you, drowns you.
The disease courses through your veins,
Burning you alive.

How do I know this?
Because every time I think about him,
I lose myself in the world of make-believe.
Every time I see him,
My breath leaves my chest, leaving me gasping.
When he looks into my eyes,
I look away in pain
Because I know.
I know he sees only my mask,
Not the person behind it.
I know that he doesn’t know I’m there,
I’m invisible to him.
I know that he will never want me,
I will never be enough.
Every time he looks into my eyes,
My heart breaks again.