i was once like you 

glass half empty 

glass half full 

i wore jeans as i stepped into the pool 

my flare soaked in the water 

i believed it was just as radiant. 

it wasn’t. 

​

you wear bootcut 

sometimes you dip your toes in 

but you didn’t feel the need to drench your pants 

so you didn’t 

while i resisted the impulse to jump in. 

we’d never swam. 

​

you handed me a safety jacket 

not needing one yourself. 

you gave me my glass half full 

and smiled as i wringed the denim into it 

pouring in as much as i could 

but you kept your glass half empty 

as those were the rules of the pool.

 

you said i wasn’t unnatural 

so what am i for defying the red ink on the wall 

and what are you?