watch me burn

we were only kids
laughing in the back of the bus
and lifting our hands to the sky when it got windy
because maybe if we believed it enough
they would become wings

we were only classmates
grinning when we got paired together for a project
and choking on laughs in the back of the room

we were only friends
but i would smile and wink at you
every day when we passed in the hallways
just to see the look on your face

we were only friends
but i would write imaginary declarations of love
instead of that overdue essay
and i would notice the ink
made of dreams and unrequited love
you'd accidentally spilled into my thoughts

we were only friends
but maybe that wasn't a problem

because if we were more
i would have lit that match
and burned you to the ground

because if we were more
the backlash might have shattered us both
and nothing you could have done
would have put us back together

we were only broken
torn apart by fits of anger
and enough tears to drown in

we were only broken
because you couldn't stop me from locking the door on a bad day
and i couldn't keep your breathing steady before a test

we were only broken
because problems piled up and created loads too heavy to carry alone
and neither of us were willing to take on more weight

we are only strangers
because i don't recognize you anymore

so the next time we pass in the hallway
i won't wink
and you won't call out my name

because
after all
we are only strangers