Analysis: Reciprocate Me

I got this smile for you
and I’ll wear it for you everyday
It tells me what to do
and what to say.

And now I know

just how to please your keen eye
gazing through my hollow mindset everyday.
I know now what to do
and not to say.

And now I see

just how you felt for me-
the lies you told me everyday.
I know now I should leave;
You know I’ll stay.

And now I can’t
help but surrender to these endless thoughts of you.
And now I won’t
elude your keen eye’s gaze no matter what I do.

Your testing grounds, I cannot be.
You have me (if vicariously).
I gave you all I have so please, just
please,

reciprocate me.

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For this analysis we’ll use “Eric” as the speaker and “Emily” as the subject.

I got this smile for you
and I’ll wear it for you everyday

“This smile” is a symbol of happiness. Eric refers to “getting” the smile, implying the smile is purchased, manufactured, and, essentially, fake.

It tells me what to do
and what to say.

The “smile” that Eric refers to initially now represents his false happiness, which now gives him a sense of how to correctly present himself, in words and in actions.

And now I know
just how to please your keen eye
gazing through my hollow mindset everyday.
I know now what to do
and not to say.

The “keen eye” Eric speaks of is that of Emily. What he means is that Emily is able to see through him. Eric’s hollow mindset is his normal, daily persona. Eric always appears normal, but is empty on the inside, and Emily’s keen eye can see that. But Eric’s new smile tells him how to “please” Emily’s eye, or avoid it, by acting properly and not saying the wrong things, which he used to always do.

And now I see

just how you felt for me-
the lies you told me everyday.
I know now I should leave;
You know I’ll stay.

Under the protective refuge Eric has found in his new smile, he is able to observe Emily’s actions closer, and he himself can discern what Emily is feeling. Through this, he realizes the things Emily had always told him were lies. Knowing this, Eric knows he should cut his ties with Emily and stop being used, but he and Emily both know he loves her too much to leave.

And now I can’t
help but surrender to these endless thoughts of you.
And now I won’t
elude your keen eye’s gaze no matter what I do.

At this point Eric realizes that his smile never really fooled Emily’s eye. His attempts to elude her keen eye’s gaze were utterly futile, and he starts to panic as he spirals back into desperate love.

Your testing grounds, I cannot be.
You have me (if vicariously).
I gave you all I have so please, just
please,

reciprocate me.

Eric’s final statement is directed outward, to Emily. He asks her first to stop toying with him, because his heart doesn’t have the endurance to be her testing grounds. He tells her that he’s given her everything, and all he wants is for some of his love to be returned.