The Hunger For Your Time

when you're well liked everyone
wants a piece of you
and I don't mean
the way they glance
at your body in a room
no it's not that kind
of hunger they're after
something more
intangible a slice
of your attention
a shred of your time
a fragment of your thought
they crave the glow
of your approval
the warmth of your regard
they want to bask
in the aura of your likability
to ride the coattails
of your popularity
to feed on the scraps
of your charisma
and I don't mean
sexually no
it's more insidious
than that a slow
drip of emotional labor
a constant drain
on your reserves
leaving you dry
and brittle as a leaf