Hidden Messages Poem by Maya Hanson

We're meeting strangers, stealing nights
and not closing our eyes until the sun comes up.
And I'm smiling,
pretending,
all I want to do is close my eyes next to him.

Maybe at the end of this charade
it'll turn out to be a movie scene,
but I'm not counting on it-
I haven't been fallen for yet
why should he be any different?

Chasing her, I'm next to him
and biting my lip to hold back a confession
Every time they're in the same universe,
every time she's in his arms,
it's his best moment because she's in it.
They're sparks and no shame and everything's smooth, smooth, smooth.

Have fun without her, I tell him
as he throws halfhearted compliments at me that don't reach his eyes.
Hide the fact that you're only there for her.
And I want to scream God, can't you see that's exactly what I'm doing?