I did not fall in love with his face

I fell in love with his words

the way he smiled

the way he cared

the way he knew exactly how I was feeling before I said a word

i was late for school because i ignored my alarm

i ignored my alarm because i stayed up late

i stayed up late because i pretended i did not have homework

i pretended i did not have homework because i was overwhelmed

I gather hope in my pockets.

Shiny stones

smoothed by time.

I think of the bird

that flew free from her cage one day,