Adopted

~
It’s a foreign concept for me to be liked, to be loved
Not in the way your family has to
Or in the way a congregation pretends to
But just for me
It’s entirely different
As much as I like other people
Even love them
For nothing
Except being, saying, feeling, and just generally getting it
I find it hard to believe
I’ve been programmed
In fact, I was warned by three different people
From their self-imposed outsider’s point of view
~
I was warned that you would use me up
If you noticed me at all
But as I was leaving this bar tonight
Four of you told me you loved me
And I have suspicions on a fifth, who doesn’t like to say the words
It was casual
It came easily
It was sincere
And I choose to believe you, because
For the moment
We have them outnumbered