All Unsent Messages

I wait for your green dot, and I leave the porch light on anyway. I’ll remember you on quiet Sundays.

Thank you for seeing me clearly, and it startles me that you won’t answer. I’m letting this be my goodbye.

This is me letting you go, and I promise I am trying to be better. Here’s to everything we couldn’t say.

I see your initials in streetlights, and I practice the right words in the mirror. I’ll walk forward, softer than before. This is enough.

I write drafts I never send, because I’m afraid of what you’ll say back. This is for the version of us that almost was. I won’t rewrite this again.

I still reach for the phone, and I keep rewriting the past in kinder ink. I’ll let the tide take the rest. I’m keeping the promise this time.

I’m sorry for leaving a knot in you, and I collect myself in small pieces. Wherever you are, be gentle with yourself.

I memorize the routes to you, and I keep looking for you in crowds. We were real, even if we ended.

Thank you for the warm tea talks, and I pretend the universe is listening. I’ll put the phone down now.

I hope love finds you gently, even when the room is full of people. We were real, even if we ended. I’m learning to be gentle.