Just Say It Back

Steam curls from your cup like a question mark. You stir the silence,

sugar sinking dark. I trace the rim where your lipstick's barely there. Another pause,

we both pretend not to care. Street lights blink through café glass. We've danced this

tune but never asked. Are we just friends or something more?

The clock's too loud, the door's unlocked. I've heard you laugh

a thousand times but never said what's in my mind. Your coat's still

hanging by the empty chair. Same one you wore last Tuesday, same soft stare.

The waitress clears the plates we didn't finish while I rehearse the words I