You loved me
the way you loved your favorite book
you read other books, of course
caressed their pages in your hands
carried them with you
discussed them with pretentious people in coffee shops
but still you remembered the sentences filling up my pages
the ones which made the blood
flood straight to your heart
you often thought of chapter seven
even months after putting me down
my cover art was pretty
I looked good on your nightstand
where I slept each night
the other books
which you stayed up late reading
could never quite understand why
you would not return me to the shelf
where I belonged
But
I loved you
more like I loved my favorite song
always stuck in my head
often hummed under my breath
while in line at the bank
or belted proudly, naked in the shower
rinsing the shame off of
my body once again
one time I got so into you I almost slipped on a bar of soap
if I really liked someone
I would show you to them
but mostly I didn’t want to share you
at all
you were not a physical object like I was to you
I could never hold you in my hands the way you could hold me
but there you were in my music collection
alphabetical order
next to all of my other favorite songs
isn’t it time you put me next to your other books?
I promise you won’t forget me
even if I burn
you’ll still see my words in your mind
the way I hear your beat