I ALMOST/INSTEAD

I almost canceled the coffee date
A meeting between old friends
Filled with laughter and a few silences
About what could have been, instead
I almost touched his hand,
Walking through the door
Café patrons never glanced at us
Both with hands, now glinted gold
Instead –
Time swept past, decades, even
To a child’s summer rose
Innocence, for both of us
Each too shy to kiss
Fondness, and affection
Almost blooming into love
Each the other’s friend
Instead time – and love
Took other paths
Until we met again
Laughing, we roamed a bookstore
Nearly bumping the other’s hand
I almost bought a book
And encouraged him to get something

For himself, instead

Together we stood close
While I found my favorite choice
And, by flipping through pages
Selected passages that
I knew he would enjoy
I almost found a love story,
A tangled thread, time dropped off
It was supposed to be a coffee date
But could be so much more
              A story of two young children
              Each too shy to kiss
I almost hugged as we stood together
Saying our long goodbyes
Snippets of conversation,
— now, cut short
But got into my car alone, instead.

Photo Credit: David Nitzsche Flickr via Compfight cc

Written by 

Carly Zee is a poet and writer and lover of the finer things in life — like good wines, dark chocolate, and erotica. She finds myself seeking pleasure over reason on far too many occasions, and will, in all likelihood, continue to do so. To come along for the ride, you can connect with Carly through https://carlyzee.wordpress.com/

One thought on “I ALMOST/INSTEAD

  1. Carly, I love this so much. I have a past love…unresolved, you wrote exactly how it is with us—choosing different paths…and wondering. Deep sigh! —D.

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