Let me just be a friend.

I Just Want to Be a Friend.
I just want to be a friend.
Not a role to fulfill.
Not a name to carry.
Not someone you label
daughter, colleague, woman, or "just a girl".
I don’t want to be measured
by how softly I speak,
how much I care,
or how little I ask for.
I just want to sit beside you
without being anyone to you.
Not someone you feel responsible for.
Not someone you're careful with.
Just... someone you're real with.
Let me pour my heart in the silence of a chai cup,
without you searching for hidden meaning.
Let me speak of my day, my fears, my awkward little hopes
without you assuming I'm asking for more.
Don’t compare me to the brand I wear,
The figure I don’t have,
The shade of my skin,
Or how much I earn or save.
Don’t calculate my worth in labels or paychecks.
I’m not a product. I’m a person.
Don't look at me like a riddle.
Don't answer me like a question.
I don't want to be someone's daughter.
Or someone's "maybe".
Or someone's "almost".
I want to be the pause between your thoughts.
The comfort you don’t have to explain.
The presence that doesn’t knock but never intrudes.
No obligations.
No borrowed meanings.
No undercurrents that exhaust the soul.
I want to live in a world
where two people can sit,
and nothing needs to be earned to be valued.
No glances that weigh.
No words that blur the lines.
Just friendship
True. Gentle. Whole.
Let me be that.
Let me just be a friend.