I carried your name through years of dust and distance. I buried my own voice beneath the silence of waiting. (It was never spoken.) I wrote apologies in the dark when no one could see me. I tore them apart before the morning could betray me. (It was never read.) I saw your shadow in the crowd and almost reached for it. I turned my hand away before the gesture could break me. (It was never touched.) I tried to forgive myself for what I could not undo. I tried to forgive you for what you never admitted. (It was never finished.) I whispered your name into the air as if it could absolve me. I listened for an answer that would never arrive. (It was never given.)
