Rebound

You were already gone.

Your eyes searching over my shoulder,

as if love could be found in the distance.

I took you in, knowing you were still bruised

by someone else’s hands.

I made myself soft, a quiet place for you to rest,

and waited for you to notice me there.

But when I reached for more,

when I asked for the things you promised,

you said it was my asking that drove you away.

You made it my fault for wanting

what you pretended to give.

Now I sit with the weight of wondering

how I became the story you tell, to save yourself.