Whispers

I whisper when I'm with him,

My voice too soft for him to hear.

I ask him to lay close to me

And I say all the things too honest

To say to him out loud.

I tell him how near he is to

My heart, my soul, unlocking

All that I have hidden away

And just beyond the words I say,

Is the feeling waking me at night,

The feeling that has never granted

Joy nor mercy. It takes all I have.

So in those moments when I am

With him, I steal my voice away

So I cannot say that one word:

Love.