What in the world
Were you thinking
That night when you
Stuck a bookmark between
My effort and trust?

Did you try to read my brown eyes
Through her lighter lens?
Did you truly convince yourself
Her thin hair was as thick as mine?
Did you mark my scattered freckles
Onto her blank-sheet cheeks?
Did you manage to feel my crooked spine
As you mindlessly reached for hers?

I hope you have
studied me for
memory's sake;
My every word and
The lines of my palms--
for that's all you will have of me.
I will close my pages, and
you can't cheat with
a book that has
all the wrong answers.

Keep this in mind
the next time
you're with
her
and I'm

*gone.