i listened to your first words
as if u’ve whispered all of them
in a dream to me before.

i saw the night sky i’d watch
from my bedroom window in your eyes, sparkling the sparks i knew all too well.

ur touch felt of the warmth
only my worn out blanket provided
on rainy mornings greeting me.

ur name rolled off my tongue so easily
like i’ve been calling it into the world
for years and years.

when everyone i’ve ever met has felt
oh so strange—u were only but familiar.

someone
pull
the blinds
drawn

it’s
getting
dark
again

we used to draw sharks
on our living room floor,
and run away laughing
when it was time to clean up.

we’d sit at the curb
a block away from home,
consuming junk food and stories
no one else will ever know of.

u were the baby of the family,
a constant reminder that i had to grow.
and ur name even came from me,
a responsibility i will always adore.

i’m sorry if life has failed u,
i can’t help the regrets that come rushing in, knowing in my heart that i tried,
but u just weren’t mine to save.

i wish we could stay in the past forever
ur hand in mine as we’d cross the roads,
i wish the innocence stayed in ur eyes longer,
but now it’s time i let u grow.

don’t hold
my brokenness
so close
to your skin

i wouldn’t
want u
to cut
yourself.

i’ll live my past a million times over
and face the same demons in a battle,
i’ll relish the pain, nicking out old scars,
if it means there’ll be us today and forever.

loving u
makes me
hate myself
a little less

u come to me
so naturally,
almost like
breathing.