A grand gesture is nice.

Even more if unearned.

But so is just a little treat.

Like an ice cream cone on a hot summer day.

Cheap but an act of care.

Equally unearned but even better if gifted.

***

I like being treated on my birthday, but that is one day out of the year.

There are so many opportunities for the little things.

Ways to show that you love me.

An unprompted hug or surprise cup of tea.

I do not like cut flowers but I would still love them from you.

All the little things that show the relationship is more than an obligation.

***

I would much rather have a hundred small gestures than one big one.

Death by a thousand paper cuts to the shell around my heart.

Proof beyond what could be simple justification of emotional detachment.

Because I will always wait for you.

But the long distance between feeling cared for is like wandering a desert.

A slow agonizing death of my heart where I eventually fall apart.

***

So if you have to choose one, go small.

Be the light I need to continue.

Never let that spark die even if all you can do is hold me.

Please do not let silence be my fate.

Where there no longer is a reflection of my care.

Just be there for me.