When I asked you to come out
to the open mic
I thought I’d be able to impress you
with my prowess before an audience.

Little did I know
hat before you
my skills would escape me,
my talents dissipate.
I did not realize you would already have such a power over me
and I would become such a puddle in your presence.

This then is what approximates love now.
This distant longing.
These obsessive stares.
The way I hope and pray
for a chance to someday
express and iota of my shame for you
that is what is left
of passion
and feeling.
That is what this form will allow.
It is paltry indeed.

I could tell you so many things
that are important to me about us
– about a potential us –
but I’m not really sure where to begin.

Just these words that I scribble
and hope someday
to hide in your coat
or something equally strange.