Though this might take me a little time.

The More Loving One

Looking up at the stars, I know quite well
That, for all they care, I can go to hell,
But on earth indifference is the least
We have to dread from man or beast.

How should we like it were stars to burn
With a passion for us we could not return?
If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me.

Admirer as I think I am
Of stars that do not give a damn,
I cannot, now I see them, say
I missed one terribly all day.

Were all stars to disappear or die,
I should learn to look at an empty sky
And feel its total dark sublime,
Though this might take me a little time.

-- W. H. Auden

In my relationships, it seems, I almost always care for the other person in the way that he or she cares for me. Hate him, he hates me back; Love her, she loves me back. This is the symmetry of emotion. And in it, I suspect, lies one of the keys to making friends, engendering enemies and connecting with others: give the emotion that you expect in return.