Walking on eggshells

A harmless tease, an innocuous joke

Or a good-natured, albeit ill-timed, poke

Is all it takes for our egos to bruise

Why this offense at the slightest excuse?

I surmise (though there is no way to tell)

We were born wrapped in an invisible shell

That broke apart as we grew from within

Exposing to the world our very thin skin

No shell to shield, the fragile egos bleed

And the smallest of nicks takes years to heal

Worse, we do not even clean up the mess

Forever we must walk on these broken shells

Distance

Across the hall, you see me and smile

The joy of the heavens is in your eyes

As my heart leaps out toward your feet

I realize you are far beyond my reach

For I see the distance that lies ahead

The miles and miles of words unsaid

Words that, had propriety let me speak

Would've told you what you mean to me

And strewn along those unspoken miles

An intense love from the depths of my mind

That I've not yet had the courage to feel

For fear I'll drown and gasp to breathe

So I pull my heart back just in time

And greet you only with a stoic smile

You walk away like the sun at the end of day

As I watch you from the twilight miles away