bruises

they've always said
"you're 13
you don't know love
you're too young to experience love"
but 
they've been married 37 years
they fight every day
their child comes to school with long sleeves during summer
their rings and their vows
are slowly fading to oblivion
a solitary memory
to what they once had-
milk turned sour

part my chapped & bleeding lips
i pop a brown M&M into my mouth
you follow suit-
close-up camera shot of two teens 
standing in an alleyway 
painted butterfly wings on a white brick wall
kissing
visibly in love yet
too scared to say it 
for the fear of the power that love holds
it's a drug
you become addicted
you only want it
and when you don't have it
it hurts
but it's okay that it hurts
because hurt is part of life

a moment that never happened
a place that was never ours
a feeling that will never leave me
yet it's already left you
so i must sit with this
knowing that you don't feel the same way 

the boy no longer wears oversized sweatshirts
ever since his mother left
a faint smile traces his lips
sun peeking out behind the clouds of emotion
he's the best actor i've ever met