Second Place

"" I loved you in the quiet ways— the way the moon holds the ocean close, never asking for more, just hoping you'd stay, but you were always reaching for someone else’s shore. I traced constellations in your scars, held your name like a prayer in my chest, but somehow, I was never enough— just a shadow standing in his silhouette. He leaves you waiting, half-loved, unseen, a forgotten song in the back of his mind. And still, you run to him, hands trembling, while I stand here, arms open, heart aligned. Tell me, is love measured by the ones who hurt you most? By the ones who make you beg for a glance, a touch? Because I would have given you galaxies, while he gives you just enough. And maybe that’s the cruelest part— watching you settle for broken things, when I was ready to make you whole.