you told me to write a happy poem

Abbey Hebert

 

I.

i was waiting for you when i sat by the lake

watching as the waves folded in on one another

doubtlessly in love with rocks  yet only temporarily 

crashing before retreating again into the vast lake

 

i was waiting for you when i sat in my backyard

gazing at the space between the clouds

awaiting nightfall so the setting sun could sing 

me to sleep once more

 

i was waiting for you when i sat on the couch

staring at my father’s eyes while he stared at my mother 

we survived in blistering silence and thirty years of memories

it is easy to see unreciprocated love

 

II.

i imagined you were in the sky faraway

blowing the water and slowly nudging it towards the rocks  

where you saw me sitting infatuated 

with how the waves curl and crash 

 

i imagined you were some distant artist

carefully painting purple along the horizon

splattering the stars among the skyline

directing me to the dippers

 

i imagined you were the breaths my parents 

took between vows on their wedding day

nervous breaths from when they meant the three words

i now hear from you every night

​