how hard it is to tell
if he's holding his breath because you think he is
or because he is going to sneeze
when you were a child you could hear the sea in a shell
until Mum told you you'd hear it all the same
in a simple glass
from then on, you refused to hold either of them to your ear
not even for once
not even for a mere
second; how hard it is to tell
if he keeps coming because you think he does
or is it another glass
but no one this time to inform you it's here;
if he keeps smiling because you'd like him to
or because he has nothing to say or do
and he feels he has to
and if you ever discover he feels he has to, it will not even be a glass
darling, to be sincere
i guess it's something you can recover from only once