Karen Bassey's poem is about the pain of being pushed aside. The speaker watches someone she once stood beside walk with a new partner, and the first line, "I stared," sets the tone: she is stuck watching, unable to act. The newcomer is going to the places that were promised to her, and the speaker is stung that everyone seems to prefer this "skinny little replica" to the real person.
The anger builds as the speaker calls the new girl "greedy." She doesn't just take a boyfriend, she takes a future, dreams, hopes and friends. The speaker's bitterest thought comes near the end: she was only needed in the hard times, and the replacement gets the easy ones and the vow to stay "through good and bad." The mood is raw and resentful, but also lonely and hurt. The poem ends where it began, with the speaker staring at the "perfect couple," left powerless on the outside.