it’s in between stations
on the 9:32 train out of the city
studying windows for facets of urban legacy
forcing my thoughts away from you
and the streaks in your hair which decide
your new future
a safe transformation
removing every bad thing that’s come your way

I can’t say you’re the one that got away
when I never had you to begin with
this is the ending where beginnings and middles
are of no value
for surrounding the way you smiled
and laughed when I said something witty
were the tone deaf words
shattering the wonder
where the “someone else” you find
is the first and possibly the last
where you don’t need to fall in love again

a few photos are enough
to declare this vision you always wanted
from the way his arms find you
and the way you relax into them

how maybe he takes you to bars where the music isn’t too loud
and the drinks are affordable
you can share everything with him and only him
each secret you’ve been dying to share

if I exist even as an afterthought
in the pages which don’t need revisiting
only the close of a chapter unattached to the narrative
if I ever told you you were perfect
it may have been a mistake
I can’t pretend those are original words
and I’m the first one to love you
I can’t pretend I’m the story that will become timeless
and you can’t pretend you’ll read any of this
since every poem you heard from me
whether or not you truly loved it
it always had the potential to break you
there was a sense of staying power
and you simply wanted out

with that came the "once upon a time" you
wished would come to life
safe in its innocence
never needing to be questioned

when the train finds its destination
and sends me off into the night
it could be the final page
the ambiguous ending
to a story which never began