I once loved a boy
who let me hold my breath
until I turned blue
waiting for him to say
three simple words
but he set me free with
three words of his own:
“You’re not her.”

I once befriended a girl
who went apple picking
with her family every fall
and swam with the jellyfish
every summer.
Now she spends every Christmas
and New Year’s with men who will
run their hands up her thighs
but cannot remember the color of her eyes.

I now dream of boys with
colorful tattoos and smoky hair
who let me rest my head on their
broad shoulders and take my cares away.

I am now like the girls who prefer
to dance and sleep alone.
I love the girls with broken hearts
because maybe we can gather our shards
together and create something beautiful.