Member-only story
Under the Influence
A Poem
i could have kept talking all night,
but the words bubbled out so fast
that it was like i tripped over them
in my haste to make myself heard.
but you listened, you listened,
as if i mattered despite the noise,
as if i might have enchanted you
if i were the right one at the right time.
but your eyes lifted away from me
to spy someone else across the room,
and i almost turned my head to see
the girl who wasn’t me, wasn’t me.
i could have downed the rest of my wine
and asked to cash out my tab for the night —
except your eyes returned to meet mine
as if the shift hadn’t happened at all.
i knew to be wary, to be on my guard —
but your easy smile almost made me doubt.
maybe i would have been better off
just cutting all my losses right then,
leaving you to the mystery woman
who had stolen you away so easily.
