By Grace Cuddihy

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About an unrequited love

i was too young to love.
young enough to 
obsess. 

knew him like
the back of my hand;
he knew me like his.

walking with him and a friend.
overheard him
“you could get with any girl
you choose her?”
heart pangs.
i was just
a thing to him.

i followed him like a doe,
he knew it.
i would do anything for 
his bits of attention.
 
a starving animal, i chowed 
on his morsels.

she came.
the way i was with him, he was with her.
why her?

he told me 
i had pretty eyes.
he must have felt for me.
crumbs.
one day, he said “i could only imagine kissing her. 
or i guess you”.
the second choice is a choice.

i broke out.


i fell in love 
with someone who liked me.

he found out,

asked me one question
why him?

Process

This piece originated from the writing prompt: write about an unrequited love– inspired by Taylor Swift’s song 10 Minutes All Too Well.

I participated in the Writing 360 Erasure Poetry workshop with Candice Iloh. I was inspired by how the medium made writing poetry feel much more attainable for me– someone who is considerably more comfortable with prose.

I “erased” sections of my free-write story about someone experiencing unrequited love. It evolved into this poem.