#seashore - Hello Poetry

I’ll inhabit the shadow you need me to be, The glitch in the system, the flaw in the plan. If blaming me keeps your own spirit free, I’ll play the antagonist as best as I can. For love isn’t always a hand held in light; Sometimes it’s a ghost slipping into the night. I remember the coffee, the steam in the air, The shared meals in breakrooms where time didn't exist. The way that we’d laugh without burden or care, Before all these memories turned into mist. We found our own rhythm in deadlines and tasks, Hiding our hearts behind professional masks. Then the world opened up by the salt of the sea, Where the waves met the shore and the city felt small. You were more than a colleague, more than a "we," You were the person who answered my call. But those lunches by water are ripples now gone, As I wait for a lonely and different dawn. I remember the bus rides, the sway of the frame, Watching the world passing by through the glass. The silence was heavy with things we’d never name, Watching the hours and the streetlights pass. But my favorite journey, the one I still feel, Was the heat of your presence behind the steel. The weight on my back as we rode on the bike, The wind in our hair and the engine’s low hum. That was the version of "us" that I like, Before I grew cold and before I grew numb. Your arms 'round my waist was the only true home, Across every mile that we happened to roam. But now, when I catch the sweet scent of your veil, That perfume that lingers like ghosts in the hall, My heart starts to stutter, my spirit grows pale, As I lean my head back 'gainst the cold office wall. It’s a nostalgic sting, a sharp, fragrant grief, That brings me no comfort and grants no relief. I know there is someone who holds you now, A different story, a different hand. So I’ll make this solemn and silent vow, To be the one person you can’t understand. I’ll distance myself till I’m out of your sight, And leave you to walk in his version of light. I’ll let myself be eaten by sadness and pride, While I play the "bad guy" so they’ll trust you still. I’ll keep every secret locked deep inside, And bend my whole life to your narrative’s will. If they need a villain to make you the saint, I’ll be the dark shadow, the smudge, and the taint. I won't tell them about the karaoke nights, The songs that we screamed till our voices gave out. Beneath the neon and the cheap, colored lights, There wasn't a flicker of worry or doubt. The kisses and hugs that we shared in the dark, I’ll bury them deep, leaving no single mark. Because to the world, I’m just "someone you knew," A colleague, a friend, or a face in a file. They don't know the depth of my "I love you," Or the miles that I’d walk just to see you smile. It’s a "stupid heart" thing, to love from afar, While watching you follow a different star. So I’ll never talk to you, not for a day, For the rest of your life, I’ll be quiet and still. I’ll let the memory of "us" fade to gray, As I climb up this lonely and desolate hill. I’ll proceed to never think of it again, The "how" and the "why" and the "where" and the "when." Go on and tell them I was the one who was wrong, That I was the villain who ruined the peace. I’ll carry that burden, steady and strong, To grant your reputation a total release. For the greatest devotion is vanishing whole, To protect the light of your beautiful soul. I’ll ride my motorcycle into the rain, With the seat behind me empty and cold. I’ll trade all the joy for this quiet pain, And leave the true story forever untold. I love you forever, in my silent way, In the things that I’ll never again get to say.

0

May 8

May 8, 2026 at 2:01 AM UTC

NBIhave3

A villain's Final act of love

I’ll inhabit the shadow you need me to be, The glitch in the system, the flaw in the plan. If blaming me keeps your own spirit free, I’ll play the antagonist as best as I can. For love isn’t always a hand held in light; Sometimes it’s a ghost slipping into the night. I remember the coffee, the steam in the air, The shared meals in breakrooms where time didn't exist. The way that we’d laugh without burden or care, Before all these memories turned into mist. We found our own rhythm in deadlines and tasks, Hiding our hearts behind professional masks. Then the world opened up by the salt of the sea, Where the waves met the shore and the city felt small. You were more than a colleague, more than a "we," You were the person who answered my call. But those lunches by water are ripples now gone, As I wait for a lonely and different dawn. I remember the bus rides, the sway of the frame, Watching the world passing by through the glass. The silence was heavy with things we’d never name, Watching the hours and the streetlights pass. But my favorite journey, the one I still feel, Was the heat of your presence behind the steel. The weight on my back as we rode on the bike, The wind in our hair and the engine’s low hum. That was the version of "us" that I like, Before I grew cold and before I grew numb. Your arms 'round my waist was the only true home, Across every mile that we happened to roam. But now, when I catch the sweet scent of your veil, That perfume that lingers like ghosts in the hall, My heart starts to stutter, my spirit grows pale, As I lean my head back 'gainst the cold office wall. It’s a nostalgic sting, a sharp, fragrant grief, That brings me no comfort and grants no relief. I know there is someone who holds you now, A different story, a different hand. So I’ll make this solemn and silent vow, To be the one person you can’t understand. I’ll distance myself till I’m out of your sight, And leave you to walk in his version of light. I’ll let myself be eaten by sadness and pride, While I play the "bad guy" so they’ll trust you still. I’ll keep every secret locked deep inside, And bend my whole life to your narrative’s will. If they need a villain to make you the saint, I’ll be the dark shadow, the smudge, and the taint. I won't tell them about the karaoke nights, The songs that we screamed till our voices gave out. Beneath the neon and the cheap, colored lights, There wasn't a flicker of worry or doubt. The kisses and hugs that we shared in the dark, I’ll bury them deep, leaving no single mark. Because to the world, I’m just "someone you knew," A colleague, a friend, or a face in a file. They don't know the depth of my "I love you," Or the miles that I’d walk just to see you smile. It’s a "stupid heart" thing, to love from afar, While watching you follow a different star. So I’ll never talk to you, not for a day, For the rest of your life, I’ll be quiet and still. I’ll let the memory of "us" fade to gray, As I climb up this lonely and desolate hill. I’ll proceed to never think of it again, The "how" and the "why" and the "where" and the "when." Go on and tell them I was the one who was wrong, That I was the villain who ruined the peace. I’ll carry that burden, steady and strong, To grant your reputation a total release. For the greatest devotion is vanishing whole, To protect the light of your beautiful soul. I’ll ride my motorcycle into the rain, With the seat behind me empty and cold. I’ll trade all the joy for this quiet pain, And leave the true story forever untold. I love you forever, in my silent way, In the things that I’ll never again get to say.