Borrowed Detail

The casual mention, in a crowd,

a detail I had told

in confidence, not spoken loud,

now carelessly unrolled.

It wasn't meant, I know, to sting,

just a story for the ear.

But the way they made the small thing

public, brought a sudden tear

to my eye.

The shared laugh, it kept its flight,

while mine broke, caught and thin.

A small, precise, unwanted light

shone on what had been

my own.

They moved on, light and free,

never knew the slip they made.

But a quiet, sharp cut, for me,

by words that were just played.