In the dark hours
I imagine your other lives
The ones where our paths diverged
Instead of came together

I see you holding the hand
Of another person
Someone who carries
The sleek gloss of Hollywood
A stark contrast to my own
Rumpled and unready life

In these dreams
You are always happy
You are always laughing
No one pulls away, or fights
You have found the perfect person
For a life of ease and joy

But I also imagine myself
Hovering around the edges
Yearning to still know you
To find some way of being
Unobtrusively in your life
In these dreams, I am the shadow

And then I remember
The photograph of our silhouettes
Joined where you clasped my hand
We are two shadows together

Photo by Zachary Rothstein