Back In My Heart

Quiet kitchen

Cold cup on the table

You trace circles

On the wood

On my palm

You say nothing

Just breathe through the silence

I taste sugar

Under all that calm

I call this love you can’t return

Soft like a match that refused to burn

You hold me close

Then you let me go slower

So I keep chasing

Shadows on your shoulder

Old car stereo

Summer stuck on one station

Your hair tangled

In the wind

In my hands

You laugh easy

But your gaze through the window

Feels like you’re

Already changing plans

I call this love you almost chose

Like trying on somebody else’s clothes

You sing along

But your heart sounds lower

And I keep sipping

Words you never told her

Phone light blinking

Same fight

Different evening

We say “always”

While we pack our bags

You fold sweaters

I fold up expectations

Turn our photos

Into worn-out tags

I call this love that came too late

Wrong key

Wrong door

But you still wait

We talk in codes

Getting colder

Older

And every answer

Slips right through the holder

New apartment

Your name on the mailbox

Mine a secret

In your hidden drawer

I bring flowers

You bring explanations

We keep dancing

On a tilted floor

I call this love we never write

Kept in the margins

Out of sight

You kiss my face

Say “it’s just one more”

I walk away

Heart pressed to the boulder

If I were brave

I’d leave you clean

Cut the thread

Erase the scene

But every time I try to start

You pour my name

Back in my heart

I call this love that won’t let go

Soft as the truth you don’t want to know

You close the door

But your eyes lean over

So I stay standing

Shadows on your shoulder