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

One thought on “I ALMOST/INSTEAD”

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.

One thought on “I ALMOST/INSTEAD”