maybe I'm tired of being the one who feels everything

“Oh to be the poem, not the poet.”
I came across this line and for some reason, it stayed in my head longer than I expected.
Maybe because being the poet sounds beautiful from the outside.
You get to notice little things.
The way someone smiles.
The way the sky looks before it rains.
The silence after a conversation.
The feeling of missing a place you haven't visited in years.
You turn all of it into words.
You find meaning in things other people might simply walk past.
But sometimes I wonder…
What if I don't want to be the person who is always finding the words?
What if, just once, I want to be the reason someone else can't find theirs?
Oh to be the poem, not the poet.
To be the thing someone writes about at 2 a.m.
To be the sentence they keep coming back to.
To be the memory hidden somewhere between their favourite songs.
To be the person who makes someone pause in the middle of an ordinary day and think, “I wish I could explain what this person means to me.”
Maybe that's what the line really means to me.
It's not about wanting attention.
It's about wanting to be seen.
Really seen.
Not just for what you do for people, not for how well you understand them, not for how easily you can put feelings into words.
Just… you...
Sometimes people who are good at understanding others secretly wish someone would understand them without needing an explanation.
They know how to ask, “Are you okay?”
They notice when someone's voice changes.
They remember tiny details.
They can tell when something is wrong even when the other person says nothing.
But imagine having someone do that for you.
Imagine not having to explain why you're quiet.
Imagine someone remembering the little things you casually mentioned months ago.
Imagine being someone's favourite thought without having to constantly prove that you deserve the space you occupy in their life.
Maybe that's why the poem sounds more appealing than the poet.
The poet creates beauty.
The poem simply exists and is loved for what it makes someone feel.
And maybe sometimes we're tired of creating.
Tired of understanding.
Tired of putting feelings into words for everyone else.
Maybe we just want to be the feeling for once.
Kisi ki shayari ka woh lafz banna hai, jise woh baar baar padh kar bhi khatam na kar sake.
Not because we want to be someone's entire world.
That's too much pressure anyway.
Just a small, beautiful part of it.
The kind that makes an ordinary Tuesday feel a little different.
The kind that brings a smile without any particular reason.
The kind that gets remembered years later, even when everything else has changed.
And maybe that's the strange thing about being human.
We spend so much time trying to express ourselves that sometimes we forget what it feels like to simply be understood.
So yes…
Oh to be the poem, not the poet.
Not the person constantly searching for beautiful words.
Just once, I want to be the reason someone else finds them.
And maybe that's not too much to wish for.