I once dated this girl.
Sometimes she got annoyed with me
When I forgot her birthday
Or made her coffee
When I was supposed to know she drank tea
Or when I’d rent a movie
That wasn’t her favourite one;

But even though I didn’t always
Get her a birthday present
I sometimes got her flowers
Or made her breakfast in bed
Just because
And not out of annual obligation.

I never did pay much attention
To what she drank;
I was far too focused
On the look of content
And the way she cradled a warm mug
Like a little taste of heaven.

With movies, I chose any I saw-
It didn’t matter what genre
Because her reactions were fascinating
Every single time.
I think it frustrated her
That if I was asked to
I couldn’t name her favourite colour -
But she could say mine.

She knew I was a coffee person
And the name of my favourite band;
She knew my middle name
And the street I grew up on
And the name of my first boyfriend-

And she never forgot my birthday.

If she had to fill out a questionnaire
On how well she knew me
She’d pass with flying colours.

But she didn’t know
I only drank coffee
From a particular chipped white mug
I bought in a china shop
When I first moved out of my parents house.

And she didn’t know
Why my favourite band
Were so special to me
(they had this song
I listened to for weeks on end
After my brother's funeral)

She didn’t know
How much I hated my middle name
Because I shared it with a girl
Who used to pull my hair in class

Or that I still visit
The street I grew up on
Every month or so
Just to recall what home felt like.

She never asked why I broke up
With my first boyfriend-
So I never told her
About him hitting me.

And I never did have the heart
To tell her
How much I hated birthdays.

If she had to fill out a questionnaire
On knowing me
She’d tick all the right boxes.

She loved me on paper;

I loved her by heart.