Bits of My Ideas

Second Choice

I am your second choice that you always choose. (12 March 2024, Tuesday)

I'm not the one you want, the one you need, nor the one you'd miss, but you'd somehow still choose me.

I am the one you turn to smile at when you've said hi to your most important person. I am the one you greet when your friends are busy chatting with each other. I am the one you text when your other hi isn't seen or replied to. I am the one you turn to feed your snack when your first choice refuses to eat what you're offering. I am the one you borrow your pen from when your nearest friend doesn't have a spare one. I am the one you sit with when there's no seat left in other places.

My eyes are the ones you turn to catch when your best friend is laughing with someone else. My footsteps are the ones you try to fall with when the path isn't big enough for the whole friend group. My ears are the ones your stories reach when you can't get anyone else's attention. My laugh is the one you listen for when you find no one batting an eye at your jokes. My hands are the ones your second coffee cup settles on when you can't find the ones you were expecting to give. My phone number is the one you dial when your first call isn't answered. My words are the ones you seek when your other comfort is failing to console. My hand is the one you hold onto when the one you reach for doesn't reach back. My shoulder is the one you lean on when the wall on your other side ceases to become the rock.

I'm not an aeroplane that takes you everywhere but your old bike that you stroll around with on your boring days. I'm not the favourite book you cherish but a worn-out notebook that you scribble your nonsense into. I'm not the favourite song you remember all the lyrics of but an old tune that you sometimes hum absentmindedly. I'm not your fancy outdoor dress but the pyjamas you'd be embarrassed to be seen in and yet still comfortable not to wear. I'm not the ceiling light that covers your whole room but the table lamp that you turn on out of habit.

I am nothing but a fallback plan, a background noise you sometimes pay attention to, and a shadow you sometimes look at.

But while I may not be your first choice, I'm still a choice, and that's enough for me.

1st April 2024, Monday