instead of filling air with mindless
maybes, what if we spent time
listening to the beats
between each misplaced
glance?

i want to draw a map of
all the places your mind wanders
when silence falls. instead,
i count every word you say before
“sorry.”

how many hours will i spend
bleeding words before they stop
sounding like yours? how many
tears will you show before i stop
wiping them away?