Discovery

You stood out from the crowd only slightly,
and the fear of loneliness came to me
and said “you cannot go”.

You waved, and held your hand to me. I cried,
but said nothing, enveloped in my fear.
The seasons passed us by.

It was warm in the crowd at first, I felt,
and the superficial kindnesses built
some semblance of loving.

Until I discovered the way to love
must pass through loneliness first; that dull fear
destroyed by true lovers.

It’s a long time since you waved, and the space
where you were is lost now, in the cold crowd.
It’s my turn to stand out.

———————-

Submitted to Poets United.