The Mystery Reader

2024 Poetry Project — #6

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

i wondered about you —
i did, i did, i did —
the one behind the screen,
the one hanging on my every word.

is it strange
that i didn’t realize
you were there,
waiting on every line?

but i sensed you —
perhaps in a dream —
and i wondered if you were
something special to behold.

i know you’re not mine —
you can never be mine —
but you’re something special,
oh, i always thought so.

and i can’t make amends
not after so long —
but you’re a daydream in words,
a force to be reckoned with.

villains have their coats,
and heroes have their capes,
and loves have their endings —
and someday you or i will die indeed.

one cannot live while the other survives —
isn’t that the way this story goes?
one cannot thrive while the other persists —
isn’t that the way this story…