The Lonely Ever After

A Poem

Photo by millicent wong on Unsplash

ghosts were what we became
in the silence between words,
and i wondered what you were
in the glimpses i’d seen.

were you an angel
meant to torment me —
or were you a demon
hellbent on claiming my soul?

i wanted to find out,
so i craved you from afar
and watched as you delved
deeper and deeper into your own pool.

and you wondered why
i looked at you the way i did
when we finally met
in the chaos of a moment.

and you wondered why
i couldn’t bear to look at you
when we crossed paths
in a dimly lit hallway.

and you wondered why
i was sitting on the edge,
watching you,
trying to puzzle you out.

i can’t read your mind
or take tallies from your life —
but i’m here, trying to understand you,
because you’re the dante in my story.