I'm Glad We Met
Location
I wish we hadn't met
Or that years from now, in a coffee shop in some nameless city
while the rain pours down, and the ugly yellow of the taxis throws its stain across the windows
we would bump elbows in the small, coccooned space
where people like us talk in hushed voices over the whir of the espresso machine
and ruin their eyes trying to read by the dim lighting, hunched over in armchairs that swallow them whole
I wish we hadn't met
So that I could be free to venture out, and not constantly look back to search for tear tracks on your cheeks
Instead, I could dance up and down sidewalks
and throw glances at men who throw glances back
and lie with them in beds too comfortable to afford while the meaning of love is defined by its making rather than its maker
I wish we hadn't met
because honestly, I'm too much for you
My spirit is free, and I'm selfish -God, I'm so selfish
I never could resist a handsome face
I wish we hadn't met
because not all men are perfect, and if I don't experience imperfection, then I won't be ready for the world
They can't all be like you
They can't be humble, and sweet, and gentlemanly, and kind
and they can't all love me the way that you do
So you see, I wish we hadn't met
We experienced love at far too early an age, and now we won't know what to do when the world tries to take that away from us
We're going to college, handsome
different colleges, in different states, with different people welcoming us home
I want it to work -God, do I want it to work
but can it?
I wish we hadn't met
I wish we'd met later
But we didn't, and we wouldn't have
so let's not kid ourselves, because it only makes it harder
Your sobs shake your frame, and your tears stain my shirt
My arms hold you close, and my lips steal your breath
and even though it's bound to hurt
I'm glad we met