Like last time

She was there.
Right there in front of me,
If a little to the left.
But there was a whole metre of separation,
100cm of white noise
A gap where the time got stuck.

She had changed subtly;
Her back was straighter,
She was standing a bit taller,
Her hair had grown an inch or so.

She was trying to un-notice me.
And I was trying to avoid her.

We were both caught in a moment
It refused to let us go.
All that was needed was a shift,
A break in the air,
A crack right down the middle would do,
God knows there was already one there.

Any second now and the air would shuffle,
It was aching in its discontent.
In its middle man status
It was the wall, the hurdle
The catastrophic nothingness that stopped us

Stopped us moving
Stopped us acknowledging
Stopped us without warning.

Then she moved.
She turned slightly and then jarred,
As if not permitted.
As if a glitch wouldn't let her
She settled instead for a half-shrug,
An excuse,
An apology,
A reason.

And she left.
Left me frozen in the street
Halted on a paving stone.

A bit like last time really.

Author's Note

There's supposed to be an element of time having passed but I'm not sure if that comes across very well, any help on improvements welcome!

Reviews

[Serendipity Planet]

I really love your poem :)

[Allie]

Thank you, this means a lot.

[apennylate]

100cm of white noise... This and the frozen, jarring crack of feel I was left with... Captured me from the get-go... Read it a few times, but still wanting to rewind parts in my head... Calculatingly penned...

[Allie]

Thank you very much, your kind words are greatly appreciated :)

[apennylate]

You are very welcome...

[Relic]

A gap where the time got stuck.
That tells me time went by. It feels like friends facing each other again after an argument or maybe even lovers wanting to be together but not committed to the first move.

Nice one.

[Allie]

Thank you for the review, I suppose the situation can be applied to two people in many circumstances with similar feelings of uncertainty and hesitation. Thank you

[Bear]

You have some very descriptive lines of bold imagery. (100cm of white noise, A gap where the time got stuck) I love these two lines. I look forward to reading more of your work in the future. Standing Ovation! I give it five out of five Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

[Allie]

Thank you so much, that's very kind of you!

[Meraki]

It comes across more like two lovers denying themselves each other's company. It's a lovely poem.

[Allie]

Thank you very much, I wanted an air of time that had passed but love that might still be there.