**Because I Care Too Much**

In the quiet moments, I find myself lost,
Drowning in the depths of my own affection,
Waves of worry wash over me,
Each ripple a reminder of the tender heart
That beats within my chest,
A fragile thing wrapped in threads of love.

I care too much, they say,
As if affection were a burden,
A weight to carry with heavy hands.
But can the soil be blamed
For nurturing the roots that seek the sun?
Can the river be chastened
For cradling the stones along its banks?

Within me, a garden blooms,
Petals unfurling in the warmth of empathy,
Yet each bloom drips with the dew of concern,
A fragile paradox, this heart of mine,
Where joy meets grief like old friends,
And laughter knows the taste of tears.

I wander the streets, a silent sentinel,
Watching the dance of lives unfolding,
And the dreams tremble like butterfly wings,
I catch them in my open palms,
A prayer for their flight,
Yet worry gnaws like shadows at the edges of my thoughts.

“Why do you care?” they ask, their voices
Rippling through the air like silver threads,
But what is life if not this tapestry,
Woven from strands of connection and care?
Each pain I feel, a whisper of the collective sigh,
Each joy, a spark igniting the dawn.

I hold them close, these fragile stories,
Like a book too beautiful to close,
I ponder the weight of their...