When I Saw You

I didn’t know what to name it
the feeling that I felt in my chest.
When the light caught your eye,
the curve of your nose.
I was already gone.

No different than a song
that comes on the radio you don’t want to hear.
Not that it’s a bad song.
You begin to mouth the words, then
change the station.

Mirrors break all the time
some without reason,
some by mistake.

It may be childish.
I didn’t want to see you.
I didn’t want you to see me.

Regardless how a mirror breaks,
there are always pieces left behind.
No matter how good you sweep,
it’s never the whole pieces
you worry about.

It’s the small shards
that pierce the deepest.

If by chance you saw me,
I was already gone.

If you step on a shard the way I did,
you’ll never carry it beneath your skin
the way I have.
When someone calls your name,
It digs deeper. Touching it makes it worse.

No matter how I limp,
It’s like they know that it’s there.
Long after its settled.
Long after I’ve forgotten its silence.

Scattered and swept,
to find that I still missed a piece
that misses you every time.