subtext

always careful he watches

along the margins his emotions

as he dances about a direct

confession where he might

stumble exposed into the abyss

of his long-unvoiced intentions

yes he writes again of her

along a poem’s soft ledges

where he’s free to claim her

as love’s figured abstraction

translated to a faceless pronoun

rather than warm lust’s perfection

so much safer to stand in shadows

reflecting dreams on empty walls