Leaving (Poem)

Opposites
That's what they are.

When they first meet, she's on one side of the train platform
He's on the other.

She catches his eye with her odd habits
Like praying before boarding the train,
Skipping from one end of the platform to the other,
Or standing only at certain areas where the sunlight fell
Onto her pale, white skin.

He catches hers with his unwavering stare
And the serious expression he always wears
Like his dusty old T-shirt and worn out sneakers.

Over time, unspoken hellos are exchanged
And shy glances traded

He wants to know her more than guesses and mind games
She wants to teach him how to smile.

Yet, they are opposites
Him and her,
The trains always arrive at the same time
But they always leave in different directions

He doesn't dare to cross the line,
She doesn't know if she should follow her heart

Then one day,
She folds her courage into a plane of paper
And writes her hopes in ink.

'What's your name?'

He is about to reply,
When he catches her heart
Hidden in a fragile paper plane

But the train for the girl arrives first.
She stands inside and stares at the boy sadly,
Separated only by a train door
And a neverending track line.

Suddenly, a dark foreboding surges through.

Before she can turn to run out, the doors slide shut
Frustrated, she bangs her clenched fists against the glass window,
A desperate form of praying,
Her eyes darken in a silent plea.

No.

The boy waves at her
Then, for the first time,

He smiles

and she forgets
how
to
breathe.

All that's left
Is an imprint of his smile
Before she is swept away forever
By time and change.

Opposites,
That's what they are,
And always will be.