I used to see him around the way.
(usually in passing.)
Inadvertantly caught eye contact
every time he passed me.

Until the day he asked me…

“Ms…
Would you care
To walk with me today?”

Cautiously…
linking pinkies…
I let him lead the way.

Train of thought idling…
Leaning towards the things he’d say

The realist in me knowing
Words are the pawns
in the bored-games
that he plays.

Meaning:
He knows how to manipulate them
Just to get his way.

But hey—
No risk, no gain
And at the end of the day
We’re all the same
(anyway)

So,
I opened the window of opportunity
For him to experience
something real.
And I carefully
placed the chance card
On that window’s sill.

((Knowing,
that opportunity opens doors
And sheds light
On the heart’s dark corridors.))

*It can be enlightening.*

And to my liking-
I was ready to make time for him—
So moments,
we wouldn’t have to steal.

More than anything,
I just wanted him
to keep it real.

Secretly tho,
I wanted him to climb inside the window
to feel
the warmth of honesty & devotion
Instead of
“Man,-you-fractured my emotions”

But just like in the past,
He went back to passing by
Without even looking inside
That window of opportunity
That had been open-wide

I figured he wasn’t looking for a climb--
All this time—
He’s just been looking for a slide.
.
.
.
Just then is when

a gust of wind blew in

And took my chance card for a ride…