a light veil of morning mist
draped o'er the river's trace
as first rays of sun arose
was like a curtain

rainstorms steep
like tea leaves in boiling water
the clouds growing fat on
electricity and water vapour until
they can no longer expand
and the fragrance explodes
amorphous and yet
harsh, driving shards of
H₂O through the warmth
of sweaters stuffed by
bodies nourished
by the rain not as
gentle as scented steam
from a cup of steeped leaves
but just as incensed

I was scared to love you
Because I know this ends
One of two ways

Outcome 1:
We try,
And we crash and burn
And everyone around us is stuck
Cleaning up the ashes
As it becomes hard
To simply look you in the eye

Outcome 2:
Which is far less likely
We are a perfect match
And live in a world of bliss
For two years...

And then you leave
Not because you want to
But because that's where you are in life
And I would be left behind

Both hearts would break
But you would be going on to bigger things
And I'd be trapped for another two years

So I created outcome 3
Where nothing changes
Because in outcomes 1 and 2
I lose you

But what I neglected to realize
Is that in outcome 3
You will still leave
And I will still miss you

In this outcome
I just didn't have the guts
To say yes to something
That could have been beautiful

And now when you leave
I won't be left with a broken heart
But I will be left
With the "what if"

I became exposed
the moment we met,

though I still encourage
you to undress me.

You had my forever
tucked in your back pocket,
waiting for the right
time to play it.