Almost, Not Mine

I held a feeling quietly, afraid to let it show.
We talked and laughed for hours, letting comfort slowly grow.

Her voice would find me nightly, soft like borrowed light.
For once my lonely heart believed it chose the right.

Then truth arrived so simply, dressed as casual news.
She said she kind of liked him, and I had nothing to use.

I swallowed every question, every wish I couldn’t say.
And helped her chase an answer that would push me away.

I gave her honest guidance though my chest was torn in two.
Each word I spoke for her was something I couldn’t do.

Now love feels like a promise I was never meant to keep.
A door I walk past smiling, while it teaches me to weep.

But maybe this isn’t failure, just a pause before the start.
Not proof that love avoids me—just a bruise upon the heart.