Inches Away

We stood close, close enough that I could feel your breath, and hear your heart beating. But not enough, not close enough to erase the distance where our lips should meet. I could lean in, but I don’t. You could move forward, but you won’t. And I think that’s how it will always be with us— always almost, but never quite. I can see the love hiding in your eyes but I can’t touch it, and it feels like a punishment, one I didn’t know I was serving for wanting you too much, too quietly. So here we stay, nose to nose, hearts on the edge, but the truth between us never spills out.