truth be told

truth be told

the minute i heard your name again

i gasped…

my mind went back in time

where i would watch your

shoulders take over the circumference of my living room

your fingers simulate keystrokes in the air

your eyes shut

your voice filled my house with song.

truth be told

i kinda dug you then but

you and i were friends and

i didn’t want to cross those proverbial lines

and ruin what we had.

truth be told

the minute i heard your voice again

my soul smiled…

while we were trying to catch up on

seven years in a

seventeen minute cell phone conversation

i could not get over the elation i felt

in the innuendo of the “are you married now”

questions we asked of

each other.

truth be told

any inklings of that’s my brother,

my homie, my partner

ended that day and

truth be told

i needed to find a way to get you

in my physical proximity

just to see

if what i was feeling

was a crush thing

or the real thing.

truth be told

the minute i saw you again

i knew…

when you hugged me there were these

subtle currents of energy coursing

through my body and my heart went reeling and

truth be told,

i didn’t want you to let me go.

truth be told

that evening when we kissed

i shook…

but i didn’t care who was looking

or what they were thinking

all i knew is that i never felt

so comfortable before

so natural

so happy.

truth be told

that night when you made love to me

you had me…

had me

breathing heavy and grabbing the sheets

had me arching my back

silently thanking myself

for those secret exercises i do

cuz you

had me

trembling from your whispering

had me

speaking in languages i never took in

college

had me memorizing every inch of your skin

as it intertwined with mine

and truth be told,

i lost count of the times i came.

truth be told

i knew i would never be the same

when an hour before you had to go

we were holding each other in the dark

and my tears began to flow

my chest became tight

i could barely breathe

i didn’t believe i would ever feel like this again.

but i did

and you admitted

you did too.

so we began makin plans

and a lotta folk didn’t understand

but

truth be told,

who gives a damn.

and i am

doing things i never thought i would do

like

putting your last name behind my first name

seein if it sounds right.

and at night, i’m wonderin

if you’re thinking of me

and then you call

and then we talk until your battery dies

and then i get mad cuz your phone sucks

but it don’t matter you’ll be home soon.

you’ll be home soon.

truth be told,

the minute i heard your name again

i gasped…

maybe it’s because i knew

the truth.

***orginally self published by Michele Mitchell