19 September 2026

'Could and Would' Have Beens

I try to touch you, 
but you keep going away. 
I try to hold you, 
but you keep slipping.

I don't try hard though. 
I feel you would eventually 
come around and fall into 
my arms. 
But that doesn't happen 
either.

Is this entitlement? 
I don't know. Fragile ego? 
High self-esteem?
Low self-confidence 
or just laziness?

I have no idea where 
my present attitude 
comes from. 

I simply lack the fear
of losing you. I have, 
but why doesn't it 
reflect in my efforts to 
hold you?

I know I'll be hurt, and 
I'm gonna romanticize 
this pain. 

But while we are there, 
while we are at this 
absurdity that hangs 
between a casual friendship 
and a juicy affair-

The audacious possibilities 
of things fill ideas into my head, 
and I hang in there with
all possible restraints.

The 'could have beens'
and 'would have beens' 
slip into a steady rot, 
and eventually I gulp down 
my predicament like I 
loved it all from the start.