to grab me by the waist despite the thick unsettling air between us
"Settle it" I whisper with my eyes
but you look through me
perhaps you saw an enemy
but you did have the chance.
The chance to hold me like you once did
when things weren't so uncertain between us
when "I love you" wasn't mere formality
when holding me would resemble normalcy.
For you must not see,
my attempt to hold you close.
Lacking the vernacular,
to expose myself to you
the way I should
the way I used to
because of the wall you built
I built one too.
If only you hugged me
standing in front of you wouldn't feel so lonely
bare
I was exposed and you didn't see
how I yearned to be close to you
when I've drifted so far from me
You missed it, the opportunity to embrace me
when I needed it most
when we could've fixed what's broke.
Now the memory of the moment
means nothing more than
a missed embrace.
©Tia Clarke 2020
