I see you there

So pretty, so popular

Short blonde hair

Shadows dancing on your face

Flickering light from the fire catches in your eyes

You're lovely. 

Sweet sixteen

You toss your head back as you laugh

Pull out your flask 

All eyes on you 

As you drain it

The boys sit around you

Adoring you

Cheering, joking, shouting obscenities that swirl up into the night sky along with the smoke of the bonfire

Whiskey runs through your veins

And you seem to glow

You are young, you are immortal

And the alcohol brings you to life

You've got everything going for you

While I sit alone, ignored

Unwilling to even taste the elixir 

That you partake of so often

That makes the boys long for you

That makes you so brave, so willing

I am 

Jealous.

I see you there

Years later

A child, wide-eyed, clinging to your hand

Your hair is lank

Your face is shallow

Your eyes, once so bright

Now sink deep into caves

The purple bruises of sleepless nights hang underneath them

The purple bruises of unkind hands 

Dot your arms, your neck

You are as drained as the bottles you emptied

Back when you were young

Immortal

And I wonder why

I was ever

Jealous.