Fruit of the Blind

I tend to cherish the people around me
for they are my little treasures.
They lift me up when I'm down on my knees.
They give me strength when I have none.
They wipe my tears when I'm on the verge of breaking.
They pull me up when I'm hanging on a cliff.
They smile with me when I'm happy.
They show me their love through small things.
Small things that mean the world to me.
I trust my friends
and I believe they do the same.
I care about my friends
and I hope they care for me too.
I love my friends
and I like to think they love me too.
How foolish could I have been,
thinking it was so easy?
Thinking that because I was a giver,
they'd be too?
How foolish could I have been
to think of them as treasures
when the only treasure I've ever known
was nothingness?
I had taken more than enough
bites from the fruit of the blind.
Deep down I always knew,
but every time I had to come to terms with it,
I'd close my eyes and take another bite
from the fruit of the blind.
Years later, the blindfold came undone
and I saw what I was running away from.
The treasures were snakes
biting at my skin with lethal poison.
I cried my heart out
knowing there was nothing I could do
for the snakes I loved.
Why, I kept wondering. Why?
But even all that heartache
wasn't enough to change my heart.
I still love with all my heart.
I still give everything I can give.
I'm still the same old me
who would rather eat the fruit
than give up on my friends.
And yet,
the only one who hurts
is me.