Unsaid Goodbyes

It didn’t end with a speech.

No slammed door,

No, “we need to talk”

That finally did the job.

﹁﹂

It ended in tiny ways—

Your replies getting lighter,

like you were packing yourself

into smaller and smaller boxes.

﹁﹂

You stopped sending the stupid memes.

You stopped calling me “love”

And I told myself

You were just busy.

Everyone is busy.

﹁﹂

The last time I saw you

You asked if I wanted fries

and I said no,

And somehow that was a sign

I didn’t know how to read.

﹁﹂

Your hand brushed mine at the counter

like a stranger apologizing,

And my stomach sank

But I smiled anyway.

I always smiled anyway.

﹁﹂

Later, I found a hair tie of yours

under my couch,

and it felt like a whole person

shrinking to a circle.

﹁﹂

The hardest endings

never announce themselves.

They just…

Stop returning.