Sarah: Challenge Two

Okay, okay...here is mine. It's actually over 500 words, because I got a little carried away. Ahhh...yeah.



SHE'S ALWAYS BEEN THERE


She stands with you,
And your ‘friends’
And your idea
Of being ‘cool’.
She knows this is
Just a phase,
And it too, will pass.
She recalls memories of
When she was seven
And you were nine.
Hide and seek.
You always knew she was
Behind the shed,
But you let her hide anyway,
Just to make her feel better.
She remembers when
You first let her into
Your ‘No Girls Allowed’ tree house.
The neighbor boys teased,
But it seemed you didn’t care.
Her mind is flooded
With thoughts of Cowboys and Indians
In the summer heat.
You always let her play the hero.
You were always older,
Stronger, better than her, it seemed.
Someone to look up to.
“Best friends,”
You promised her then.
When she turned sixteen,
She wasn’t a little girl anymore.
She saw the way your arms
Were strong, from the
Many hours of work on your
Uncle’s farm in the summer.
Her eyes searched yours
To see if you felt the same way.
To see if you didn’t want to be
‘Best friends’ anymore.
You didn’t feel the same.
Instead, you sought
The girl with bleach blonde hair
And a ‘smoking bod’.
The one who wouldn’t
Give you the time of day.
Her heart ached every time
She was around you,
But she smiled anyway,
Waiting for you to see
Who was right for you.
She stood by your side
When your father passed.
She was the first to offer
A hug and comforting words.
She calmed you as you cried,
The only one to ever see your tears.
She listened as you talked about
Future plans and goals,
Imagining herself in them.
Graduation day,
She was the one who cheered the loudest
When they called your name.
Her camera flashed as they handed you
Your ticket to the future.
At the wild party afterwards,
She danced with you and
Finally told you,
“I love you.”
You smiled, but you didn’t
See it the same way.
Your first day of college,
You felt like crying again.
That afternoon,
You called her, about to break down.
She listened quietly,
And showed up
With your favorite chocolate chip cookies.
They reminded you of home.
But you didn’t see
The way she stared at how grown up
You had become.
In the months to come,
The separation didn’t change
Her feelings for you.
Christmas break,
You saw her as she helped
Your kid brother build a snowman
In your front yard.
You saw the way the sunlight caught
Her face, the way her hair shone.
You saw the way she joked
With your mother, laughed
With your aunts and uncles.
The way she fit in perfectly.
You started to think about everything
You two had been through together.
You started to think
About that graduation night
When she whispered
“I love you.”
In your ear.
You thought about how many times
You had made her cry,
And when she wiped away your tears.
You realized, you didn’t want to be
‘Best friends’ anymore.
She caught your eye and
Stared with a questioning look.
“What?” She asked, perplexed.
You smiled and across the loud table
Right there in front of everyone
Said, “I love you.”