Selves Poem by Michael DeVries

Today I wished
I wished that I could call you
see you
talk to you
Feel the touch of your lips on mine.
But I shied away
I did not pick up the phone
or make an effort to connect
With you.

I lacked not the courage
to do these things
Nor the confidence to know
that if I would put my heart at risk
it would be returned to me unbroken

I was deterred only
by the sight of my self.
Myself, I saw my self
a pale lifeless thing
When placed next to the vibrance and beauty
of that which is wholly you.

What kept me today
from forcing the intersection of our lives
Was the knowledge
not that I was undeserving
of your touch in my life,
but that you deserved more than to endure my presence
Diminishing your brilliance.