Safe

The You

It's the day we first met, so long ago.

Your hair was in braids,

And your smile was weary,

As though you had just laughed

At an unbearably awful joke.

I said hello to you.

The first you.

We talked, silently becoming best friends.

We kissed once, but that didn't work.

We were too much like brother and sister

For it to go anywhere at least.

So we promised to share everything,

And I hid nothing from you.

The innocent you.

Fast forward into high school,

A time that seemed like an eternity.

We were still madly in love

With us being no more than friends.

You were, at least, and I said I was too.

But I lied to you.

The vulnerable you.

You said nobody could love you like him.

And you gave in to him.

I watched from afar, unaware,

As he swooped you into his net.

I stood by, ignorant,

And I let him take you.

The wounded you.

Then I saw you, tangled in the web,

And for days I let you writhe.

I watched, intrigued, as you strangled yourself.

By the time I realized what was happening,

It was too late, and you were gone.

So I chased after you.

The drowning you.

Now I stand at attention in this field.

I guard it from predators like him,

People who want to use you.

I say I'm alone, but you've been here

For as long as I have been.

Because this is where I buried you.

The dead you.