Things That Never Came

I carried you with me everywhere I went.
You may not have noticed, but I did.

It might have been the drink I ordered
or the flower I picked.

Maybe when someone asked me my favorite color,
I told them yours instead.

Or when it came to ordering food,
I went with what you would have chosen.

And when I smile,
I'm told it's pretty.

But when I smiled at you,
you just stared at me.

I carry you with me more than you think,
and I don't think you'll ever leave me.

In the morning, when I'm sad,
or when I pray...

When I'm hurting,
I think of your name.

And when I'm busy painting,
I think about the things we used to talk about—

and all the things that never came to be.

What we would have had.
What today might have looked like.
What tomorrow might have seemed.

I don't think I'll ever let you go,

even though you decided to leave.