Nonverbal Cues

I forgot to breathe as I pedaled past where you were perched, 

as still as those statues we posed by on a date in a villa so long ago.
Do the what ifs and the why nots cross your neural pathways because
some days they linger across mine. 

It took courage and sheer willpower to turn around and foot over foot
march towards what could have been unfamiliar or familiar or that 
hazy bridge that connects the distance between the two. 
The mind discovers incredible ways to protect its more fragile counterparts, 
softer bits that are less resilient to pain. 

I had forgotten what it felt like to be wrapped in your warm embrace, 
and how your mischievous grin could invoke an involuntary smile. 
No one wins in a never ending game of remember when you thought 
a seagull or a plane or Superman was a shooting star.

And yet I still have the letters you returned and sometimes linger on 
all of the firsts we shared together, scattered around our own world. 
I know I asked but everything temporarily halted while hearing about her, 
I wasn't prepared for your response and my visceral reaction.
It's amazing how even after all of these years you feel like home.