You were a close call
A swift brush with catastrophe
As we sat through the sets
Smiling at each other as we
Mouthed the words to our favorite songs
And you paid for my ticket.

Just a close call
As we snuck looks
Through the stacks of old
Dusty records
And you talked emphatically
About your favorites
And I listened admiring your voice

Closer still
Than our hands as we
Walked through the streets
Much more silent than
My internal battle on
Whether or not to hold your hand
(Much to my simultaneous relief and
Disappointment, I didn’t)

But I avoided disaster
Involving either embarrassment
And the torture of
rejection twice faced
Or the sheer finiteness
Of what could have been
(I’ve seen how that story
Has ended and I’ve
Destructed from less)

For reason,
I recall.
You were frail,
Quite small.

Your body
Hung low,
Through trees of fall.

I rush,
As you're hushed in my arms.

A thrillseeker,
I am.
For your squeal
Begins to calm.

And now you land,
On the brim of the bank.

With a thump and thud,
Covered in mud,
I haul you strong,

As you're now a swimmer,
In the pond.