Dedicated to the Noes (Reflection)

All I ever asked you for was time...
But I wasn't inquiring about yours,
I was wanting to give you mine.
Shower you with affection like rain in mid-June.
Squeeze myself in until you made room.
I sealed my doom when I presumed you knew my intentions.
Too busy allaying your inhibitions to see the errors of my decisions,
My expectations were meeting your actions in curious collisions.
I couldn't understand what I was doing wrong,
Considering I was making revisions where others made incisions.
Gentle for all the right reasons...
Always missing the right seasons.
I didn't get it though.
Efforts were made to assure you that you weren't getting played,
Residences were taken up where no other stayed,
And just when faith was to be lost,
That's when promises were made.
It all came from a good place,
A point of emphasis from which I never strayed.
Persistent without being insistent,
Consistent without going missing.
Heard it all because you knew I was listening.
You thought you were weak when you cried on the inside,
But I saw your soul glistening.
You have so much potential,
Yet scars are in the way.
Eclipsing the bright side,
And you get caught in the dark every day.
You were looking to be head over heels,
While I was trying to be the one that heals;
We just didn't see eye-to-eye,
Failing to see progress since we were climbing two different hills.
I'm thankful for the experience though.
The greatness that I saw is the greatness I still see,
And your happiness remains important, it's still key.
It was a story I wrote with many different co-authors,
Though the main character is still me.
History repeated simply because I never learned,
But I wouldn't trade any friend I have ever earned.
A recollection of selections,
This is dedicated to the noes.
Appreciation for the misinterpretation and rejections,
This is dedicated to the noes.
Nothing but love over here...
That's just how life goes.

-A. Lewis