Guard your heart and hope to die

There are approximately 7 photos of your boyfriend,
one being a large canvas print of a photo
you have on your wall already.

Stories of people meeting in an era of romantic uncertainty.
Love is dead because marriage is a piece of paper, right?
An app that shows your name, age, photos, and a 500 character profile,
deems your worth and ability to be loved.

You guard your heart and hope it dies,
that way rejection doesn't sting as badly.

we monetize people looking for love across the world,
judge them for putting hope into a heart out of reach,
and then we mock the fact that they got burned
as if we ourselves have never been hurt.

Is it truly a bad decision to put your faith in love?
What if we were born in the wrong place, the wrong time,
speak the wrong language, and see the wrong sky?

How else are we to meet the one destined for us?

We live in an era of romantic uncertainty.
I want to try, but I'm not sure I can take that plunge.