never encourage a mime

tracing the scars on my soul

a smile tugged at my mouth

how naive she could be when it came to the power

of her own allure

she glanced down

a shy smile marching across her face

taking quarter finally in her eyes

I rested my nose in a nest of her hair

moving like a sleepwalker

my motions not my own

trying to express my thoughts through touch

wanting to express my heart the same…

words won’t work for me

they don’t mean

what i meant

they don’t say

what i said

wisdom that I did not understand

seemed to tease me

then dance away…

gradually I came to terms with my past

negotiating release for any hope I once had

I stared at her as though

seeing her for the first time…

words on my tongue

choking me

begging to be spoken

but I said nothing.

As I tried to swallow the lump in my throat

too many words had lassoed her heart

holding it prisoner

my prisoner

to interrogate

to incarcerate

to set free…

now the words sit in silence

bearing no witness

no testimony of my love

rejected by the one who once embraced them

wanting to speak but

every word

falling

silent;

condemned to pantomime

I shrugged my shoulders and said nothing at all.