Vantage Points of You and Me
A Poem
blue girl —
i liked you before i knew you —
did you realize?
sad girl, so sweet —
your every word draws halted breath,
and i wonder where it all comes from
all those bitter heartbreaks of the past,
your numbered lines, your winsome ways —
did you really think you’d be lonely all your days?
in the mirror, i see what you hate,
and i trace the secondhand gestures of another life
until i can barely keep my breathing under control
i ask you so much
what i ever did to make you
believe the worst of me
i tempt fate, thinking there’s a reason
why you won’t believe me
when i laid it all at your door
the ink dries on the page,
and i sigh again,
and i know there’s nothing i want more
than another chance
to know you,
to really know you
and ask you
why you cry
and what i can do
to stop the stream
of bitter tears
even as they fall without question
blue girl, sad girl —
tell me your reasons
and maybe i’ll tell you mine
