I thought about you
On the days when kissing you was impossible,
And your fingers were wrapped in golden hair,
While the heady scent of a perfume
That wasn't mine
Filled your nostrils.

I know you're hers.
She makes it clear
In the way she grips your hand,
Pink-tipped nails digging softly in your flesh,
Leaving crescent-shaped  marks in all the places
Her lips can't touch.

Her name is branded onto your cheek,
Spelled out in the remnants of lipgloss
Sparkling faintly against your skin.

I see the way her eyes fasten on you,
Glowing sapphires in a satin face,
And I see the way your brown eyes
Seem to glaze over
Your warm hands reaching to pull her closer.

You never seem to notice
My quiet smiles,
Or the brush of my fingers against yours.
You have strung the word "friend" around my neck
Like a strand of pearls that are so beautiful but so constricting.

You don't seem to notice my furtive gazes,
Or the silent hope I hold
For the day when you finally say
That you're tired of gemstones and gold.