they say
if you don't have something nice to say
don't say anything at all
I guess that's why
he and I
haven't spoken for awhile
it's okay
but I think it would feel nice to say
all the things I was too nice to say
all that I thought it best to repress
so I will finally confess
he's just a boy who can't say yes
couldn't take a gift
could not accept a favor
wouldn't take a single day
couldn't take some time away
from counting all the copper coins of favors that he owed
piling up the stacks of ledgers full of figures that showed debits and credits
he's just a boy who can't say yes
so I stopped offering him sweets
I stopped offering him treats
I stopped offering him anything that had a price, 
was bought or sold or made or could be quantified
I offered him instead all the love I held inside
he's just a boy who can't say yes
and when he said he needed space
he needed time
he needed me to stop giving him
quite so much of who I am
I tried
I said maybe we should find a way to let you be you
maybe I could go away and just be me
maybe we could find a way to stay friends
surely we owe each other nothing less
but he's just a boy who can't say yes
lately
when I see the senseless things he says yes to
it's hard not to take it personally
but if it had anything at all to do with me
I should be glad, I guess
they say
if you don't have something nice to say
don't say anything at all
I guess that's why
he and I
haven't spoken for awhile