The Alibi Called Friendship Poem by Innantia Magcanya

He renamed intimacy—
friendship.

He learned to touch without claiming,
to desire without confessing,
to stay without belonging,
to leave without explaining.

And every woman became
a chapter he refused to title.

You thought you were the exception.
She thought she was the exception.
Perhaps she thought
you were only a friend.

And somewhere between
all those assumptions,
he built himself a kingdom
where nobody could accuse him of betrayal, because nobody had been given a promise.

That was his genius.
Not the cheating..
The ambiguity.

He kept the truth
in the space between words.

Because a man who says,
"I love you, "
creates a responsibility.
But a man who says,
"You're special to me, "
can make a thousand women
feel chosen without choosing any of them.

So he mastered the art
of giving women enough warmth to stay,
but never enough truth
to hold him accountable.

And when the questions came,
he had one word ready..
Friend.

Such a beautiful little word.
Soft enough to sound innocent.
Strong enough to erase suspicion.
Convenient enough
to carry a thousand secrets.

And somehow,
that little word
became a house
big enough to hide us all.

He knew how to make a woman feel chosen
without ever choosing her.

He kept no promises,
so he could break none.
He gave no commitment,
so he could owe no explanation.
He planted affection
in places he had no intention
of staying.

And perhaps that is why
some men never say I love you.
Not because they feel nothing
but because silence
leaves every door unlocked.

While we were searching
for the meaning behind his actions,
he was hiding
behind the meaning of a word.

Friend.

Not a relationship.
Not a promise.
Not a confession.

Perhaps that was his greatest strategy

not lying about loving you,
but never loving you loudly enough
for you to know
you were being betrayed.

He mastered the art
of keeping everyone close
while belonging to no one.

And the cruelest part?
We were all calling it friendship...
while he was calling it freedom.