I think of you from time to time
in a prison of rusty blade memories.
We were passengers in a school service…
I was the weird kid with behavior issues.
You seemed like a friendly face I fixated on,
like a desperate puppy
hungry for affection from a master.
I used to call you every day
the one always reaching out
I wished for you to be my confidante
even when it felt like you couldn’t reciprocate
I enjoyed our landline conversations—
they helped me cope with the abuse at home.
I look back on our interactions
we could have been closer friends
or maybe more…
Heck, I’d even marry you if you’d ask.
I don’t have a the-one-that-got-away
but I’d ask Father Time and the Fates
for us to be connected by the red string.
You now belong to another—
a woman deemed your equal,
the queen you promised to cherish.
If I had a son, I’d name him after you.
-M.E. Yusay
