Blythe Baird
WHAT I COULDN’T EXPLAIN VIA TEXT MESSAGE
You were every airplane I mistook
for a star. You were everything bright

and leaving. You were the first person
I mistook for a feeling- if not love,

what was I supposed to name this?

You were the first I love you that I woke up to.
I was the first poem you had written in months.

But lover, do not mistake this book for a letter.
Do not mistake my forgiveness for an apology.

Remember I was full
long before you fed me.