The Longest Chapter

A poem about losing a friend because they decided they weren't important to you.

The pool water stung my eyes, your face blurry and I learned how to float. 

We met so briefly, and like a leaf on the wind, you were gone. 

Pale skin and freckles like sand glittered across your arms and face,

A face I'd meet again a decade later.

Oh, we loved everything, we loved so differently.

The kiss before your mom called made us closer

We chose friendship, and I was happy with that.

Midnight brews with whipped cream and cinnamon,

Small moments, every so often reminded me

We were inseparable.

We grew older, we grew together.

Every platonic cuddle told me we'd be together always

And then it happened...

You had things  you couldn't talk to me about,

And time and time again, you could never speak about what happened.

All the people that wronged you,

I could never fight because I knew nothing.

Letters of anger and frustration led to

Missed communication and held tongues.

I moved further and further away, 

One misstep, and our foundation crumbled.

An architect can only fix what they know is broken.

This bridge hanging on by pure coincidence 

Failed to meet your expectations. 

But I never thought of you as what you made yourself to me.

The longest chapter in my book of life had always been you,

And no matter how much it hurt,

How many oceans I could fill with the sorrow that overwhelmed me,

I can never convince you of how precious you were to me.

It's time to turn the page.

It's the choice you made for me.