Two steps away
Or breaths
Or however explosives are measured.
The calibre of a bullet,
The strain of a rope,
The impact of a chemical,
Legal or not yet.
The look in the eyes,
Glancing away before read.
The shared thought spoken
But not quite heard.
The thrill of skin touched
Thought long forgotten
And just as quickly realised
As hope not realisation,
A real wished for,
A wish not really landing.
It might be long-coming,
It might have arrived
And set up unannounced,
The guest never invited,
In a host uncertain but sure,
In a way unexplainable,
In a manner not conveyable,
But unavoidable as all is
Unseen but looming,
Unheard but pre-echoing,
A scent too familiar, so missed,
A tincture on the tongue mysterious,
Tantalising, recognised too late,
With every intimation of regret
And a great tumbling wave of surprise
That hinted joy and then smothered,
Soft as finest wool, except,
So light on the skin,
So strangling in your throat.
Panic, struggle, the pain of inability
To avoid the horror of that shared appointment,
Unsharable when met.