all my ghosts

i outlived the girl who loved you

life has etched smile lines into my skin 

that you've never touched

but there are nights my old memories 

still come knocking

to wonder if we ever found our way 

back to each other

i've grown a little stronger, no longer caring

for everything i loved with my entirety back then

i sit at the door with only my silence to offer

but i still remember, i remember it all

the girl who stayed, fought tooth and nail

for someone halfway out the door

left the porch light burning, praying your shadow 

would darken her doorstep just once more

losing herself in your silence 

forged by both, but only hers to swallow 

forgetting how to leave just in case 

you remembered how to return

funeral after funeral

i have managed to outlive

the girl who would have loved you

until death did us part 

but i still remember, i remember it all

how i would have stayed if you'd let me

how all my ghosts wanted it to be you