The Past And Pending

Flames are dancing in the fireplace

or souls are screaming to be saved

while the light born of them romances the night

in the room; two strangers sit side by side

each looking in one direction and trying to find

the courage to look each other in the eye

and say some words that would tie them together

in a moment that can be as magical as they’d like

but every moment that goes by silent without an attempt

is like a lifetime of things unsaid,

a failure of a love that could have been great

wind blows outside this shelter of resigned solitude

deprived of company in the presence of each other

all that can be done now, is to endure the years of minutes

that crawl past as slow as the tick-tock of the wall clock which

refuses to move any faster no matter how much they stare at it

and they stare at everything else, everywhere else

observant eyes, it seems, they see nothing

only the other, ever so close they can smell each other

but still eyes remain looking away,

fear has gripped their hearts, you see

fear of rejection looms large, unmistakably

even a hug is affected, and the words,

don’t ask about the words..

life is lived in that oppressive way, as time drags on

and the habit of company is mistaken for love sometimes,

in night-time fantasies, because fantasies are all they have

while one reads about the worries of others, the other looks on

and thinks, maybe that is what matters

woes are put to sleep by the covers of silence

and a calm resilience creeps up to shadow the possibilities

of young love

and old they grow together, habituated to not-seeing each other

clock’s batteries are replaced, chairs in front of fireplace

two strangers sit side-by-side

each looking in one direction and trying to find

the courage to look each other in the eye.