Today, I would have kissed you.
I would have tasted you
and known my longing reciprocated
when I felt your caress.
I would have enveloped you
in a frenzy of misplaced passion.
And,
I would have felt the shadow of my love in the corner,
hurt and lost by my betrayal.
I would have choked on my regret
along with my desire.
I would have been crushed by a guilt from which
no euphoria you inspired could rescue me.
So,
instead I placed you on a shelf,
something to admire on a rainy day
when boredom overtakes me again.
I put you in a drawer,
something to make me wonder,
“What if?”
and to remind me not to lose myself
in pretty words and heady glances.