Untying the knot
by cricketjeff on September 10, 2008. © Jeff Green, All rights reserved
I’ll speak to all who’ll hear about the news.
I know which plays are on and which to see.
I’ve faced an angry mob and aired my views
And told a baying zealot “speech is free”.
No man has ever faced me down unheard.
I’m confident of all I wish to say.
My diction means they all hear every word
And nobody can sweep my thoughts away.
But when you’re there I mumble like a fool,
I’m hardly heard above a gentle breeze.
I loved you when I met you back in school
But you have never seen me at my ease.
You smile at me and seem to know it’s true,
So tell me why can’t I say “I love you”.
A dozen years I’ve loved but never said.
I wish that I could learn to talk to you,
I have a thousand love songs in my head,
The most I’ve ever said is “How are you”.
You giggle with your friends and do not know
That I am here and lost inside your eyes.
There has to be a way the I can show
You are the author of my plaintiff sighs.
And then today a miracle occurred;
You walked across to where I sit to eat,
You looked at me and didn’t say a word
Just grabbed my tie and pulled me to my feet.
Inside my mouth, inside our breathless kiss
I heard you whisper “say it just like this!”
Author notes
A double Shakespearean sonnet
English