When You Walk In

I stand at the ready

A burst of warmth flashes on my cheeks

The breath is sucked from my lungs

The air around me is at once thick and thin

I can't breath, yet my chest heaves

The room spins, yet my feet are stuck to the floor

I have no words on my lips, yet my mind reels

Terrified to be noticed

Terrified to be ignored

Intention and agenda slip away

I do almost nothing

I say very little

Yet I feel every shift in the air

We are linked by an invisible string

I feel it slack as we get closer

It tugs as we move apart

But I dare not interfere

It is up to you

One day we might stand face to face

Our string in a pile at our feet

A reminder of years wasted by foolishness

One day we may slip too far apart

And the string with snap

But now it is unclear

Our string pulls and loosens

It insists and it resigns

Until the day you decide

I will stand at the ready