so many words we don’t say

acts of protection

acts of self-preservation

are they unsaid because we fear the words

or because we fear the vulnerability behind them

so much i want to say

i refrain

not wanting to scare you

not wanting to drive you away

so many words i want to hear

you refrain

scared of yourself

scared of feeling again

scared of being hurt

we dance around it

these feelings

these desires

these dreams

these words

so much of it unspoken

knowing what we could have

if only it was spoken aloud