Unrequited

What a horrible realization,

to know, very suddenly, that the warm

and heavy feeling in your chest

is love for someone you cannot have.

To remain silent and pretend,

is all at once an immeasurable torture

and a worthwhile endeavor

because you know a friendship ruined is

not worth the price of

your spirit unburdened.

And so you listen, and you stay his friend of course,

And the heaviness of feeling and knowing remains,

And you wonder, what if?