never the one
I feared not being the one—
loved right,
but not by him.
Cared for softly,
sacrificed deeply,
yet never by the hands
I chose.
I lost myself trying to fit
into his future,
shrunk my edges,
quieted my needs,
just to sit beside him—
but the seat was never mine.
I wasn’t the one
walking down the aisle,
wasn’t the name he practiced
in his head,
wasn’t the body he reached for
in sleep.
I held the dream alone.
I gave everything
and still stood outside the life
I imagined,
watching a love I nurtured
choose someone else.
I wasn’t the one.
And maybe—
I never was.
Angelandpen
A