Stumbling for words, the way I normally stumble over rocks
My tongue halts awkwardly before jumping to life only to twist itself into knots
All the things I mean to say swirl about in my head
Waiting for my tongue to stop its epileptic dance and release them
Suddenly they start to spill forth
And an avalanche of words that buries us with their heaviness
Suffocating us with weight words never had before that moment
Our eyes meet in our combined struggle for breath
Please tell me you felt that spark
But your face remains tight
Angry
And I know I’m messing it all up
Again
But I can’t stand the silence
The not talking that nearly killed me
So I open my dumb mouth again
And let another hurricane of words pour out
As if we’re not battered enough
Finally, the torrent ends
And we sit in unsatisfied silence
Ignoring the pool of words I’ve managed to make
My arms ache to reach out
To tug a gentle smile from you once more
But you stand to follow the draining flood out the door
Ready, as always, to leave me
Please stay