You had the flu last year.
You didn't know it then, but I stuck by your side.
You still don't recall it now.
Lifting tissues to your mouth, I lightly tapped your back.
Brewing fresh soup, I held an encouraging spoon to your lips.
I was never around after that.
I became someone you no longer knew,
A person you didn't want to know.
I was trapped in the tight grasp of your delusion.
Despite your hesitance, I would have stayed.
Had you not made it clear,
I would have offered a movie night,
I would have offered an extra blanket,
I would have done so much.
I've moved on with my life, I have an apartment.
But the frames hung across my walls tell whispers of our adventures.
And my secret soup recipe smells of you.
I still sometimes doubt myself, my conclusions.
I caught the flu last week.
As I blew my nose, and shakily nursed myself,
I thought about how little I helped you.
How much more I could have done.
When I returned to work today, I stared at myself in the mirror.
We have the same nose, similar eyebrows.
But my eyes had never held the same warmth as yours.
Distraught, I realised you will always be a part of me.
I will never escape your cold embrace.
I didn't choose you.
Oct 24, 2025
Oct 24, 2025 at 7:01 PM UTC
You had the flu last year.
You didn't know it then, but I stuck by your side.
You still don't recall it now.
Lifting tissues to your mouth, I lightly tapped your back.
Brewing fresh soup, I held an encouraging spoon to your lips.
I was never around after that.
I became someone you no longer knew,
A person you didn't want to know.
I was trapped in the tight grasp of your delusion.
Despite your hesitance, I would have stayed.
Had you not made it clear,
I would have offered a movie night,
I would have offered an extra blanket,
I would have done so much.
I've moved on with my life, I have an apartment.
But the frames hung across my walls tell whispers of our adventures.
And my secret soup recipe smells of you.
I still sometimes doubt myself, my conclusions.
I caught the flu last week.
As I blew my nose, and shakily nursed myself,
I thought about how little I helped you.
How much more I could have done.
When I returned to work today, I stared at myself in the mirror.
We have the same nose, similar eyebrows.
But my eyes had never held the same warmth as yours.
Distraught, I realised you will always be a part of me.
I will never escape your cold embrace.
I didn't choose you.
This isn't about the flu.