_____________________

I saw his dimpled grin,
As he spoke in cheer.
I saw his alert shoulder,
When we stepped out in clear.

I saw the serenity,
As we jogged towards the cliff.
I saw the amenities,
When he joked we throw Chloe off of it.

Everyone saw his excitement,
When we agreed upon a party.
But I guess none saw the silence,
When Ryan remarked to him to be too hearty.

I saw his fingers
as they drummed a beat,
he didn't know on the table.
I saw his gently furrowed brows,
As he scratched down a bottle's label.

I saw as his eyes squirmed,
As they joked he was high on serotonin,
"He's either in his own world,
Or way too much zoned in"

I saw the guarded softness,
In the way he next spoke.
At the spur of the moment,
I saw his momentary sob.

I saw the reflection of the fireplace,
Blazing in his eyes.
They were once supposed to calm him,
But not after his friends' exhausting tries.

In the quiet of the evening,
  As the moon began to rise.
    I saw the fleeting forlorn,
      Reflected in his eyes.

I once knew a man
who spoke in emotions,
But notions are vulnerable to disguise.
Now he muttered his jokes
in silent whispers,
His truth wrapped up in lies.

_______________________

-R