The Poetry Snapshot: An Imperfect Moment

You want to share stories and emotions,
but you’re afraid to be open.
So you pause and look out at the ocean,
and count the silences between the waves.
You sit quietly, just listening.

So much history runs through my mind,
and I cannot collect any words to say.
These pulses of anxiety feel unrefined,
but I still want to stay by your side.
So I sit quietly, just listening.

Conflicted with what we want,
we finally reach an impasse.
We pretend to stay nonchalant,
with ebbs and flows of imperfect moments.
We sit quietly, just listening.

Listening for all the unsaid words.
Listening for all the stifled laughter.
Listening to every wave crash on land.
Listening to everyone else around us.

Just not listening to each other.