i realize i look at you the way that they all do now,
that long list of girls that admire that smile

but i look with a tint of concern too when i know that you're hiding things
and you don't want to say them but they weigh on your shoulders more
than your backpack

i also realize i don't want to begin anything again
because anything now will be half-assed
and will just cause more pain than anything else

but when she hugged you today it bothered me in a way that only i can say
and when she talked to you today and when they all talk to you
and you respond with effortless smiles and pay them all
mind and joke around about how the timing is all off for them to talk
i secretly wish that they could all go away because they are a reminder
that this shouldn't happen again