You're It

We play a game
A game of tag
But it is unique
In it's own, special way
It's ongoing
And will never stop
As long as we're friends.

He tags me
A week later,
I tag him back.
Sometimes we chase
Sometimes we simply sit
And tap each other on the shoulder
Never forgetting to say, "You're it."

Some mornings
When it just takes too much energy to move
We sit on the couch
Side by side, close together
With our feet touching
And he mumbles, "You're it."
And I mumble back, "You're it."

Our love had never been voiced
Only sensed, the way good friends often do
Until the day
When my boyfriend lost his temper
Yelled at me, grabbed my wrist
And left his mark of anger on my soft flesh.

The same day
My friend cornered my signifigant other
And warned him to keep his hands off me
Forever - or else
My friend had always been protective
But more like a big brother - but not now.

That day he seemed strangely different
When he saw the marks on my skin
And heard the pain I'd been in
He looked up into my eyes with his own
And drawing me into a warm embrace, said plainly
"You're it. I love you."