the chain from off the door

cast you out or reel you in

it doesn’t bother me much when you date other girls, as long as you’re just wasting your time. you can laugh at me, at my inability to cast you out or reel you in, but it’s the truth really. we are at a standstill; have been for a while. you live too far away for us to be anything substantial, but i’m not willing to let go of what you have always been to me, ever since that first summer out on the beach when late june kissed both of our brows. i cared about you before i knew you were worthy of it. and i never stopped. now, you live too far away for us to be anything substantial, anything real, but i’m not able to let go of the sickle-moon possibility that we could once again be the fourth-of-july to each other’s summers. and it appears that you are not either. i think you still care about me. i’m here to tell you i’m okay with that. you wish me luck in finding a man who gets my sense of humor, and i tell you to let me know when you find someone who is a glorious winter, long enough to compare to my eternal summer rainstorm. it doesn’t bother me much when you date other girls, because so far you’ve just been wasting your time. and i guess you can rest easy because despite my best efforts, i’ve been stuck doing the same. you tell me, “maria, if not for the distance…” but i have to say that the distance is a real thing. it’s just as substantial as we ever were.