In the Shallows

Beautiful.

I like these kinds of poems more than sonnets. A lot of poetical muscles!
This powerful punch line ending :
"So I'll reside in the shallows
Where solitude is kept
Company by its reflection."
technically seems a bit off to my liking. What reflection in shallows? (as opposed in deep for sure.) But fishes cannot see themselves in the air as WE could in the water. Yet they could poetically perhaps.
Also you might've considered elements that bypassed my attention. So, we are just learning.

Your works seem strong my friend.

I really feel the pain and vulnerability in asking "Was it better to be loved?". I think that's an incredibly relatable question. Even recently when sharing more personal moments, I notice I hold shame and harbor regret afterwards, like "should I have done that?". Should I have opened my heart up? I also think we can acknowledge how love is still worth it, but that does not diminish our pain and anguish. And it certainly doesn't invalidate the desire to now isolate, to keep a safe distance. That's very logical in a way when we're hurt, to want to close ourselves off for the time being.

Lots of depth in this, thanks for sharing!