Live — Summary

I take my happy heart and give it to others Then, like vampires, they suck the happy out When it's drained, they give it back Then I must refill it again I let others take my cheerful thoughts for their needs They take until they're gone I have to restock restart I let others drain me 'Til I'm empty I give but don't take They take but don't give That is how I live

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The speaker describes a draining cycle: they hand their happiness to other people, who "suck the happy out" like vampires, then return what's left once it's used up. The speaker has to rebuild their cheerfulness from scratch, only to give it away again. The words "restock" and "restart" make this feel almost mechanical, as if the speaker were a shop shelf or a machine rather than a person with their own needs.

What stands out is how willingly it all happens. Phrases like "I let others" suggest the speaker is a participant, not just a victim, which adds a note of tired resignation. The final lines, "I give but don't take / They take but don't give," are short and balanced, and they land like a verdict. The ending, "That is how I live," is flat and unhopeful, and it gives the poem its mood: worn out, lonely, and stuck in a pattern the speaker doesn't seem to know how to break. The title, "Motivationless," fits that feeling of emptiness.

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