Unrequited

Taking someone's breath away,

Is not supposed to be literal,

But where were my lungs,

When I first saw you smile?

A cynic in matters of the heart,

Yet the pull to you was cliché,

A moth to a flame,

I think I actually giggled.

If you told me time had literally stopped,

When our eyes met across the room,

I would have believed you,

And known the reason why.

Because how can someone possibly,

Make irises as cold in colour as ice,

Seem so warm,

So inviting, so kind?

I heard nothing in the lecture,

Using all my power to avert my gaze,

Sneaking a glimpse every now and again,

Did you know you frown when you concentrate?

You were called on to answer a question,

And the confidence in your voice cloaked me,

Wrapping me in the tenor of your words,

Was this love at first sight, first sound?

Seconds ticked by,

Butterflies filled my stomach,

As the end of the class approached,

The chance to speak to you loomed.

You were closer to the door,

Halfway out when I was still packing,

But I had to know if you'd felt it too,

The electricity, the chemistry, the fire.

But as I followed you out the room,

My breath was stolen once again,

But this time due to heartache,

When I saw your hand in another's.

I had not believed in love at first sight before,

And I have not felt it again,

Not since the day I saw you smile so tenderly,

At someone else.