keep your head up my love, and remember that
if it doesn’t work out, your best friend is still
willing to share custody of a cat with you.
you can still move into that apartment
in New York with the windows that overlook
the pale city lights. it just doesn’t have to be
with him. there are others who will love you
much better than he did, and he will build you
a window seat next to that city view
so that you will be inspired to write poetry.
just live for yourself, sweet girl, and all will be well.

she puts on a little more makeup before class,
even though she knows that he won’t notice
anyway. she’s sure to put on that shade
of lipstick that her thirteen year old cousin
Sarah says is a work of art, even though it’s not
going to make him want to kiss her any more than
he did the day before.  she’s not too sure if she’s
doing it for him or if she’s doing it for her.

I just want to get you alone
because you're the closest
thing to home I've ever known.

you put the stars in the sky
with the sparkle in your eyes.

she has planets in her eyes
and dreams of unseen lands.
the tattoos across her body
a map of the places she’s been.
she could go anywhere,
but she longs to go to space.
she’ll do it with rainbow hair,
laughter in her heart,
and a smile on her face.

Tonight I had plans
to study your voice and memorize
the exact color of your eyes.

Plans to lie in your arms
underneath the stars,
maybe sneak into your heart.

I didn't plan to sleep
because tomorrow I'll sleep in Boston
and our little chapter will be all done.

I'm already starting to forget
how your voice sounds,
and now I'll never find out.

But it's fine.
It's not like I even wanted
to say goodbye.

no matter what happened,
you loved wildly with
your whole heart, and
that’s a commendable thing.

at the time, you made my world
a little bit brighter, and for that,
I'm forever thankful.
things are different now,
but perhaps we're both better for it.

you deserve someone who will
wake up earlier than you do
to make your morning coffee.
well, I was never a morning person,
and you wouldn’t have to ask her twice.

I could have written
much better poems about you,
but you didn’t give me the chance.