I couldn’t quite catch your words
But I heard your smile
Tugging up a corner of my lips
As I turned to decipher the joke
In eyes you encrypted for my surprise only - 
For me - 
That instant,
Fast disintegrating
Among outside voices
Pressing in
Against the thin membrane
Of expectant quiet
We huddled under
For a chance of knowing.
All that can be said
Piled upon
My catatonic tongue,
Overloading its search
For the perfect
Set of words
To match your wit
Or to elicit
An exchange of secrets
Called for in the moment
That just passed
As the outside flooded
Our fleeting shelter,
Pulling at the edges
Of your regard.
We shrugged
At the ill-timed current
Beckoning you away
And I laid down
A smiling lifeline
With the hope
It’s bright enough
For you
To find your way back.