Whispers

It’s just a whisper. 

A small sound

Not a discernable word.

Accompanied by nervous glances

And unsure smiles.

Wasn’t supposed to be anything at all.

Some need created this proximity.

Some function joining companions,

For practical purposes.

A previously unknown tempest

Was lurking in the atmosphere.

It was just a whisper.

The lightest of touch.

Fingers ghosting over bare skin,

An arm.

A shoulder.

Fingers slipping through hair,

Just so; barely even there.

Just a casual touch.

Nothing really,

It’s nothing at all.

It’s just a touch, or three.

Born of a mundane task.

Something not relevant

In any other way.

There is a squall on the horizon.

It was just a whisper,

A tactile murmur.

An unnecessary connection

Becoming a requirement.

Time ticks by,

Distressingly slowly. 

The air thickens with each tap

Of the second hand.

An insistent but still unclear thought

Niggling at,

Tormenting, their brains.

An electric charge in the ozone.

Extremities seem unclear of

Boundaries.

Gently, delicately, interfering with

Each other.

Small smiles and glances  

Speaking silent apologies after

Each contact.

A blush appears upon pale skin,

Occasionally at first.

Then constant.

On each of them.

So pretty, the palest of pinks

“If I could just touch that…”

It was just a whisper,

In one of their minds.

In both of their minds.

A storm surge threatens.

Excruciatingly slowly,

An unnamed urgency

Is making its presence known.

Breaths come just a little

More quickly.

Words remain unspoken.

Yet clearly stated,

Agonizing truths are exchanged,

In just a look.

Neither can turn away now.

A smoldering gaze

Held in resounding silence,

For some immeasurable amount of time.

Like opposing forces tired of fighting

The pieces are drawn together slowly,

A beautifully, painfully reluctant migration.

Averse to the inevitable,

But unable to prevent it.

Breath mingling together.

First cool, then hot.

First moderate and deep,

Now rapid and shallow.

Souls seeking a connection

But warring against it.

It was just a whisper,

Now a caterwauling symphony

Between these two.

Desperate to be heard.

But still terrified of the consequences

Of such a powerful thing.

Intense silence broken only by

Short, soft breaths.

Restraint fades into the enveloping darkness.

Lips crash together like waves

To the shore.

With just a whisper

They agree to drown together.