Swimming Lessons: Poems. Lili Reinhart

      cracked open.

      I told myself

      that I would never let you be

      the one that got away.

      it seems to be our winter,

      so I’ll try to make

      snow angels in your

      cigarette smoke.

      he laid down his pen

      after a few quiet moments.

      and there were no marks

      on the corner of the page,

      where his hand

      had been resting.

      the ink had run dry.

      there was nothing.

      nothing left.

      If you give love and project

      your heart into the world,

      you will receive it in return.

      Maybe not right away,

      but eventually.

      I’m living proof.

      I kept loving.

      I didn’t give up.

      And I finally got it back.

      Don’t give up on what your

      heart tells you.

      Don’t ignore the thoughts

      that keep you up at night.

      How is it possible

      that the moment your

      breath meets mine

      my lungs become so clear,

      it’s as if I had been silently

      suffocating.

      I hope you look at me like

      you do the sky.

      Standing,

      breathless,

      admiring my colors.

      My heart feels heavy today

      but not because of sorrow.

      It feels full

      or swollen.

      It’s like I’ve discovered a new

      compartment inside myself

      with all this room left to fill.

      And I’m filling it,

      easily,

      with you.

      I feel you

      latching onto a piece

      of myself that will only

      continue to grow,

      as I grow.

      You are engraved in me,

      settling comfortably into

      my empty spaces.