You never taught her how to play that game you loved so much.
You said she wasn’t the kind of person who could commit,
That she’d never spend that much money on something like that.
You never knew
she would’ve emptied her pockets,
Sold everything she had, just to share an interest with you.
If it meant sitting across from you,
Speaking your language

She almost watched videos about it, trying to learn on her own.
Late nights, phone screen glowing in the dark,
Every time, she’d pause, fingers hovering over the play button,
Because what she really wanted was for you to teach her.
She wanted it to be more than just a game—
She wanted to say, “My boyfriend taught me this,”
To hold the cards in her hands like they were a part of your soul,
A fragment passed down from you to her.

Instead, she stood on the sidelines, watching,
Feeling like she was always just outside your world.
You didn’t know how much she craved that connection,
How much she longed for something you could build together,
Something that would’ve tied you closer,
Threaded through with meaning,
Something more than just a game.

It wasn’t the cards she wanted.
It was the time spent, the lessons learned,
A moment where you saw her not as an outsider,
As someone who belonged in your world.
Instead, she is left to wonder,
What it might have felt like to share that magic with you.