write a poem about me,
all inked hypotheticals
and pretty words dressed up in rationality -

give it to her
and tell her she's beautiful,
that she writes like a dream,
and leave just enough spaces
in between your favorite metaphors
to string them up with a maybe,
a silhouette of me,
just enough space to wonder
if she's only bright in my shadow -

because darling, I want to know
what it feels like
on the other side
of sadness.