waves - gerard cayco

i think about the shore sometimes.
about how we watched waves collapse into themselves
again and again.

we admired how they returned
no matter how many times they broke.

i did not know then
that waves are not only found in oceans.

they rise in chests too.
they gather without permission.
they crash in private.

and unlike the sea,
not all waves are meant to be seen.

i also remember distance.

how it does not happen suddenly.
only slowly.

a figure across a room.
a familiar shape growing smaller.
a silhouette learning how to leave
without ever looking back.

until it becomes something
my eyes can still recognize
but my hands can no longer reach.