come sit by my side.
i waited for you twenty seven years.

vain fantasies and
aches and
eventual numbness.

we became adults.
i saw my friends
go home to a foundation
that was their own.
we couldn't stay
awkward and innocent forever.
i told myself it wasn't real.
i saw their lives grow.
strong adults
holding worlds as one.
it was as real as i was alone.

i hope you can be
more than empty compromise.
maybe you can at least
make some grandiose metaphors
maybe i'll be able to say
you are the tracings of fingertips
the gentle hum of the afternoon
the summer sun on my skull
the seaweed at my ankles
the wind that sifts through
my lockjaw
and lifts my voice
so i can sing for a bit.
raspy and tone-deaf.

maybe you've always been here.

i waited for you twenty seven years.