they say it's when you're not looking
that you find
someone

they waltz into your life
in romanticized, Hollywood fashion
inspiration for the ages

but then there are those
who wait and then
continue to wait

they hold out their hands
for wondrous prospects
gleaming with safe confidence

they think about their friends
who just got married
and the couples moving in together

how one second there's an ocean of people
followed by a startling realization
they've all found what they're looking for

the necessity to mingle
and match on Bumble
carefully disparages personality

this clock which likes
to tick only in
the throes of danger

to settle on the assumption
you're missing something
or simply everything

to stand by as
this motion picture is supposed to begin
and quietly cry for pressure's release

it's inside these walls
of lifeless patience
where the skin around you
weeps to itself
the magic of internal allure
sleeps until it's summoned to life