Collateral Damage

Hurt people hurt people—

but I’m always the one

hurt by the hurt person.

And I just absorb it,

as if the result

is somehow my fault—

for not only accepting it

but perpetuating it.

Because I have my moments,

despite my effort to do better.

I am magnificently flawed,

I know.

Still, I have this

unadulterated urge

to love the unlovable.