this is how a heart breaks

I broke.

Did you even care?
Did you even notice?
Were you even there?

I broke. Not all at once.
It took time. Hours, days,
months, years.

I laughed it off.
I walked it off.
I ranted, and I raved…
but you didn’t do a thing.

(you’d argue that I never gave you the chance.
I’d say I don’t know what it is you could’ve done.)

But, you know, a hug goes a long way.

I broke.
I left shards of me
scattered along that path
that I paced, again, and
again, and again…

You watched with laughter in your eyes.
You thought it was just another quirk…
you know, those little things that
make me who I am.

Hate to break it to you, but it wasn’t.

(count four, five steps,
tight turn, and back again.)

I broke.
You watched.

And the saddest thing?

There wasn’t a thing
anyone could’ve done.