Glossy eyes and a glazed over smile.
Curled hair and an upbeat tone.
I walked up to you for what seemed like a mile.
Your eyes were down and you were on your phone.
I knew my name wasn’t in it so I had to take the chance.
You looked away.
Didn’t give me the time of day.
All I wanted to do was dance.

I saw you leave with him, but I wasn’t upset.
I tried my best but I wasn’t enough.
Its crazy how I can remember this now and still feel regret
All these years later I finally called your bluff.
Now you’re walking toward me in a wedding gown.
It’s impossible for me to frown.
But I still can’t help but drown and fight
The thought of you sleeping with him all those years ago
And I’ll never tell my brother about that night.

I keep a spare key under the welcome mat,
But no one ever needs to use it.
The hinges on the locks never squeak.
No one has taken that spare key in almost a year
to keep for themselves.

I leave my door unlocked.
People come and go as they please.
No one ever stays.
My door remains unlocked.

Faces only remind you of
How lonely you are,
You say you've swam too far
Into the sea of your regrets
That I am your lifeboat
But didn't you hear
I sank long, long ago?

You've been searching
For a new home,
One that doesn't creak
Or shudder at night.
But homes are not people
And your voice cracks
As you point out
There's a welcome mat
By the front door
But I never answer
When you knock.

It's been a while since
I started attracting
Strangers with flashlights
To search me like
A haunted place.
I finally realized they
Were the ones that
Needed scaring away.

It's so odd to think,
You once told me
You saw beauty
In clifftops,
And I thought you
Were talking about
The view.

Glossy eyes and a glazed over smile.
Curled hair and an upbeat tone.
I walked up to you for what seemed like a mile.
Your eyes were down and you were on your phone.
I knew my name wasn’t in it so I had to take the chance.
You looked away.
Didn’t give me the time of day.
All I wanted to do was dance.

I saw you leave with him, but I wasn’t upset.
I tried my best but I wasn’t enough.
Its crazy how I can remember this now and still feel regret
All these years later I finally called your bluff.
Now you’re walking toward me in a wedding gown.
It’s impossible for me to frown.
But I still can’t help but drown and fight
The thought of you sleeping with him all those years ago
And I’ll never tell my brother about that night.

Damaged good are always on sale
In every store, whether resale or retail
No one wants something that’s broken down
Except for when they see that certain person walking around town.
She is shattered and mangled, but not on the surface
A beautiful sight, her eyes lit like a furnace.
She sells herself, but not for ***
What’s given away is more complex.
The idea of being wanted is too far gone,
Like her dignity which left her for so long.
So she lives her life always seeming distraught,
But really it’s only because of her thoughts.
They consume her mind and swallow her whole,
And every day it takes its toll.
She is worn and broken, and it’s clear to see
What once was so beautiful, wild, and free
Is now in the past, she can’t help but reminisce
The days that were once so grand and full of bliss.
She gave up when she gazed in the mirror,
Seeing what couldn’t be any clearer.
She’s still the same person that she once was,
Except now she’s in the prison which does
Consume her mind, her heart, and intent
For her sins she feels she must repent.
Her past is one that no one would yearn,
And to this day the thought still burns.
If not for that single mistake
Then to this day his heart wouldn’t have a break.
She sold herself, but nothing is new
For it has happened to all of us a time or two.
We sell ourselves short in all that we do,
But what we must remember is that there are very few
People in this world that remain pure and true.
All the rest are damaged at best,
And in the end it’s what separates them from the rest.
I discount myself, but I will never be sold
On any ideas that I have ever been told.
When I get put down, what people don’t realize is that I have already found
The worst critic on this planet, the one sitting down
Writing this poem and filling your thoughts,
Making you feel like that damaged box.

The first time I looked into her eyes, I saw what she was talking about.
The pain was there, and it was alive.
The stone grey pupils that I couldn’t help but stare into were a solemn tone, but I saw the beauty in the pain.
I saw straight through what her eyes were telling me.
I saw the girl behind those eyes, and the beauty that lied within the fragile frame that was taking all my time.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.