Brady's poem

Daniele

be careful she yelled
as I biked away
I laughed and yelled
never! no helmet no brakes!
Staying alive is just another hobby!
And she insisted
Don't!  Get!  Hurt!
And I relented ok...for you
I won't.  But she never said
I like you
And I never worried about her
in return
she seemed invulnerable
to me somehow
We talked for hours
We walked for miles
She told me she worried
about her mom and her dad
She stared into my eyes
for awhile
looking for something
and I have no idea what
she found there
if anything
she bit me once
so hard I bled
and then shoved me out
her door
and I stumbled away
utterly confused
and I tasted my blood
and I tried to ask her
why she did that
and she just texted
I'm an open book (?!)
The question marks
and exclamation points
added by me of course
and then she said I'm sorry,
I'm an insensitive asshole
and a long while
later I texted her like
a little desperate kid
Do you like me?
I wanted I needed
her to say yes.
Or you're a good friend.
But her only reply was
Are you having a moment?
and when she saw me next
she would get a big smile
and she would draw
me into her arms
I bought you a drink
she had always just
bought me a drink
but she never once said
I like you
did she think I was smarter
than I was?
and the smile she always
gave me is like
an echo and I grasp
for it in my memory plead
with it
don't don't don't fade
don't fly away