I don't know what I expected.

You stood out in exactly

the way I hoped 

you wouldn't, exactly the way

I hoped I wouldn't.

Like an animated character

in a live-action environment,

you even made the trees 

look dead in comparison.

So I latched onto insignificant

specifics of your appearance

to stay grounded. The bob 

of that brown wig, that one 

puny pimple that seemed 

to cringe whenever 

you talked about your parents.

I was mesmerized,

desensitized,

so I didn't realize...

you never asked me any questions.

Guess you didn't want me to say

something unexpected.