secrets, pried from slack fingers
unencumbered truths; she told me
everything

almost, everything

drunk it in a distilled spirit she told me everything about
her being gone from me when we stood
together and slipping away when i turned my head
being in the room, i

—lines—

stole from her everything, spoke questions that
turned into truths, she spoke haltingly and choked,
i was
steady

“i do love you.”

and i let her pause
my breath came as steady streams
and my electric buzz under control

“i do love you.”

i drew her out from under her coverings,
limply she said
“i do love you.”

i smiled like a curve was my mouth
tried to control the way my eyes glinted forward, yes
that’s control

“but i’m not in love with you.”

revelled in the perfection of my predilection, yes

i suspected as much from the way she turned her eyes
and let me
falter under doubts

“but i’m not in love with you.”

i asked a lot of questions
slid blades under collar bones and spread her open
moved with my heart pounding, soaked in her adrenaline

but there are some things i didn’t ask




how did she
know she was not in love with

me

how did she know she loved me but didn’t
love
the curve of my skin and the way i laughed, didn’t fall and fall when i walked in the room, no

is that how she knew?

“have you been in love before?”, i don’t ask that

“are you in love now?”, i don’t ask that

and she knew when i didn’t
was grateful (still is)

she was right, when i look back and see how much she were given and how the balance was so tipped and how inevitable

yes i was entirely undeserved