To My first love
I Saw Your Wedding Photo
I saw your wedding photo because someone we both know shared it. You looked happy. Not performative happy. Not trying-to-prove-something happy. You looked settled. I expected jealousy. Instead, I felt a quiet ache and then relief.
There was a time when I thought your happiness would be evidence that I had lost. I understand now that love is not a contest with one winner. We were young. We hurt each other in ways young people often do when they are trying to build a future with tools they do not have. I hope your marriage is gentle. I hope you listen well. I hope you have learned to apologize before silence turns into distance.
I closed the photo and went back to my own life.
For the first time, that felt like enough.
There was a time when I thought your happiness would be evidence that I had lost. I understand now that love is not a contest with one winner. We were young. We hurt each other in ways young people often do when they are trying to build a future with tools they do not have. I hope your marriage is gentle. I hope you listen well. I hope you have learned to apologize before silence turns into distance.
I closed the photo and went back to my own life.
For the first time, that felt like enough.
