subtext

if I could speak

into you without

the slither of words’ doubt

without fear free

of the insecurities

I hide beneath like leaves

then would you answer

with something I could hear

free of the obstructions

casually dropped

like the clichés of adolescence

I read all you say like runes

inscribed in the sky

I gasp after your ciphers

like a runner gulping air

say something to listen for

to shape me beyond now

and the awkward words we share