By: Sehaj K Maini

Something in my heart burned
when your arm grazed hers.
An accident perhaps, yes.
But I can stop not
This poison ivy inside of me
Killing my judgment day by day,
while you roam the streets,
ignorant, and carefree.

When will you understand my pain?
When will you understand
that every time you mention her name,
every time you breathe in her perfume,
it just kills me from inside.
I have tried my best
to hide, to conceal, and be
the girl you want me to be.
But I can’t stop it growing inside of me,
this poison ivy.

Maybe someday when you and I are apart
And our friendship remains a thing of the past,
I will look at your old photographs
And realize, such a fool I was
To fall in love with you, while you
lived in your own world,
unaware of that aching in my chest.

Perhaps I will nod my head, and laugh
at my own stupidity.
But even with that fake smile on my face
and your broken memory,
I will never be separated from, that poison ivy.