Almost

I chose you
in the silence between words,
in the glance you almost gave me,
in the moment your hand nearly reached for mine.

You stood so close
I could hear your heart change its mind.

I loved you
without asking you to match it,
without needing a promise 
just a sign.

And still,
you stayed behind the “maybe,”
behind the “not yet,”
behind the fear
you wore like a coat
even when the sun came out.

I waited,
until waiting felt like
standing in a doorway
of a home we never built.

You never said no.
You just never said yes.