You Deserve Someone Who Texts Back
You stare at your phone like it owes you money
screen lighting up for every app except the one you need
Delivery updates, weather alerts
some company begging you to buy socks again
every ping except the answer to that last read
Your last message sits there naked, timestamped
hanging like laundry in a storm
You type out three follow-ups, delete them all
rehearse a speech about how you are totally fine
this is the norm.
You make excuses for them in your head
maybe they are busy, maybe they are asleep
maybe their battery died
Maybe they were abducted by aliens
anything to explain why their output has dried
Meanwhile they are posting stories, liking memes
commenting on strangers’ thirst traps with full sentences and pride
Yet somehow your simple “hey
want to hang?” still floats alone, brushed to the side.
You treat your own need for answers like a flaw
call yourself clingy for wanting basic courtesy in turn
Talk yourself into staying quiet while your stomach twists
while your brain starts to burn
You are not asking for a poem
you are asking for proof that you are not shouting into a tunnel where the echo won’t return.
You deserve someone who texts back
not three days later with a half-assed “sorry
fell asleep
” Someone who sees your name pop up and smiles
not someone who files you under “maybe” when they are cheap
You deserve a reply that does not feel like charity
does not leave you pacing the room, counting every beep
You deserve someone who texts back, straight up
no tricks, no ghosting
no promises they refuse to keep.
You bend your schedule around their maybe-plans
keep whole evenings open just in case they remember you exist
Turn down other invites because you do not want to miss that one crumb of affection you put at the top of your list
You call it loyalty when it is really self-abandonment in a cute outfit
waiting by the phone with nowhere else to go, Meanwhile
there are people out there who would answer you mid-chaos just to let you know.
I have seen you reply to messages in tears
in line at the pharmacy
at work on breaks that were not long enough
You send paragraphs checking on friends at three in the morning because you noticed something in their tone sounded rough
If anyone deserves reciprocal care in this mess
it is you, and no, that standard is not too tough.
You deserve someone who texts back
not three days later with a half-assed “sorry
fell asleep
” Someone who sees your name pop up and smiles
not someone who files you under “maybe” when they are cheap
You deserve a reply that does not feel like charity
does not leave you pacing the room, counting every beep
You deserve someone who texts back, straight up
no tricks, no ghosting
no promises they refuse to keep.
One day you will leave that message on read yourself
not out of spite
just out of finally giving your energy somewhere new
You will be mid-laugh with someone who answered you the first time
who showed up when you said “I am not okay, I need you
” Your phone will buzz with a late “hey stranger” from that old ghost
and you will blink, shrug, let it pass through
Like spam, like noise
like noise that has nothing to do with the life you knew.
Till then
repeat it like a mantra when you start drafting essays to justify their silence on your behalf
You deserve someone who picks up, who answers
who does not make your heart feel like a joke or a gaffe
You are not asking for a miracle
just a message that says “I see you, I am here
” on the path, You deserve someone who texts back
and that bare minimum is not too much to ask
do the math.
Next time your thumb hovers over send on another “please notice me” disguised as chill
Put the phone down, breathe
and remember your time is worth more than their “maybe I will.”