An Ode To Back-Burner Love

I’m writer’s block. I’m a forgotten dream by morning. I’m the cup of tea that’s gone cold. I’m a drag off a cigarette. I’m the sock lost in the dryer. I’m the page marked in the book by your bed. I’m your unfinished art on the kitchen table. I’m misplaced house keys.

I’m all the words you never said. I’m the library books you never returned. I’m a lullaby you forgot the words to. I’m dishes piled in the sink. I’m all the feelings you didn’t talk about. I’m blankets thrown across the bed. I’m your midnight movie left on pause. I’m all the places you didn’t explore.

I’m rotting bananas in the fruit bowl. I’m the alarms you snoozed at six in the morning. I’m the taboo topic you always shied away from. I’m the ocean depths you didn’t dive into. I’m your mother without your father. I’m that one secret you could never let out.

I’m warm light pouring through the blinds. I’m a chariot that soars through the sky. I’m soft lips speaking kind words. I’m a dandelion in the crack of the sidewalk. I’m a child’s laugh on a gloomy day. I’m the moon controlling the waves. I’m the candle in a dark room.

I’m just the right rock to skip across the water. I’m your grandmother’s blueberry pie cooling in the window. I’m everything you failed to see. I’m motivation on your laziest Sunday. I’m a bottle of wine that aged just right. I’m the snow falling on the highest mountains. I’m the hummingbird zooming by the garden. I’m the cool breeze by the lake. I’m fuzzy socks on cold feet in the winter. I’m more than what you had said to me.

I’m the love that was far too great for you. I’m burnt toast.