Needless emotion

• Jessica Trumbull, Grade 10
• Poetry
• 2003

Why do I say I'm sorry when I know I've done nothing wrong
Why do I look for you in a crowded room when I know you're never there
Why do I smile inside every time I hear your laugh
Why do I look at the future when I know I'm still stuck in the past
Lying alone, I feel a sense of guilt
But this isn't my fault
It's yours for choosing to be bitter and thinking you're always right
I know no one will ever love you the way I did before
I know I played my role well--perhaps a little too well
Nostalgia chokes me, this lump in my throat
And I wish you could see the truth, I wish you would open your eyes
And see that I loved you the whole time... I never told you lies
But you simply refuse to see how much you mean to me
And my patience is starting to run dry...
I can't change the way you see the world--all I can do now is sit and wait
And hope that someday you'll wake up and "forgive" me, seeing me the way you did long ago...