The Shoreline

A Poem

Photo by Ozan Çulha via Pexels

i come to the beach when i want to mourn
the loss of another love gone wrong,
a happiness turned sour,
madness invoked.

i didn’t think it would be the same again,
but so it goes, so it goes, so it goes,
because i’m not a tattoo kiss
to any of them.

but then you walked in,
you shimmered with no right to do so,
and i began to crave something i couldn’t name
because love creeps up on those of us with soft hearts.

but the story
wasn’t mine to write,
wasn’t mine to own,
wasn’t mine to be.

you loved so deep, so true, so full —
but not for me, not for me, not for me,
because i’m not the one
they ever want to keep.

and what if i’m always just standing out here alone?
what if everything remains a mirage?
because that’s what it feels like now,
as if i’ve just woken up.