All Unsent Messages

I should have asked what you needed, and my chest answers with thunder. This is for the version of us that almost was.

I check your name at 2 a.m., and I practice the right words in the mirror. I?ll keep the window cracked for luck. You don?t have to answer.

I?m sorry I forgot your softness, and I tuck the ache into my sleeve. If this reaches you, know I tried. I?m learning to be gentle.

I am walking home a different way, and I still don?t know who I am without you. I?ll keep the window cracked for luck. I?ll keep making tea for one.

Thank you for teaching me patience, because I?m afraid of what you?ll say back. I?ll put the phone down now.

I am folding our story closed, and I wonder if you kept anything of us. I forgive you. I forgive me.

I hum your tune in empty rooms, because I?m afraid of what you?ll say back. I?ll put the phone down now. You don?t have to answer.

This is me letting you go, and I wonder if you kept anything of us. I?ll carry the lesson, not the weight. I?ll keep making tea for one.

I kept the ticket from that rainy movie, though the calendar insists we moved on. I will keep the soft parts of us. I?m learning to be gentle.

I am deleting our map, and I wish I had the courage to press send. Here?s to everything we couldn?t say. I?m learning to be gentle.