There’s a bottle of black nail polish collecting dust above my dresser

The bottle is stout and plain

It was only used once

Foolishly I spent last summer

Repainting every nail

Until they all fell off

The day after tomorrow is your birthday

I ought to have known

I remember it falling on a rainy Wednesday last year

I lay on astroturf

And wondered if I’d ever see you again

The last bit of polish lasted on my finger through the November cold

On December 1st

In my Philosophy class

I noticed it was far gone

I thought about the night we all painted ours

And mourned change for a little bit

A girl reached out to us today

I’m sitting in silence with a message that I will never respond to

I feel guilty

Then remember I am healed

And ready to go about life without any reminders of you