The Silence

The silence felt so awkward between us,

As I tapped my fingers nervously 

On the steering wheel, 

He glanced over between my side profile

And the passing trees,

Scratching his beard at times.

A few words uttered here and there,

Most, for the sake of formality,

Calculated gestures to impress the other.

How awkward was it, 

The first time we spent those moments together,

The first time we met.

The silence felt so comfortable that day.

He firmly maneuvered the gear stick,

A sweet smile on his face,

While I stole frequent glances at him

Smiling the way, I felt his eyes smile,

The soft notes of that romantic song

Playing all the while, as though

Our hearts had composed a symphony together,

The day we confessed,

The day we decided to be forever.

The silence had started becoming awkward again,

Not the type from the first date.

It felt a bit shrill today, 

Words unexchanged, words not communicated,

Gestures misinterpreted. 

I fumbled with even starting the ignition

While he glanced at my frustrated self

With an apparent irk, lacing his self,

Our first fight that day,

When we first failed to communicate.

The silence had now become unbearable,

He gripped the steering wheel

Till his knuckles became as white as paper,

My face red with anger and hurt,

While I refused to even glance at his face,

Even once. The soft notes in the background

Seemingly suffocating our disturbed minds,

The day our fights reached their peak.

The day we started falling apart.

The silence today is so loud,

Deafening our ears, 

My shaking hands failing to take control

Of the still car, hot tears 

Streaming down my cheeks, yes,

He sat alongside, tears running down his cheeks too.

Tears of hurt, of anger, of pain,

Of loss, of lost love, of departure,

He glanced at me for a final plea,

His eyes speaking with mine,

Of broken promises and hurtful words,

Pleading to give ourselves 

This one last chance, mine pleading for the same,

Yet, it seemed, as though

The two souls who had once 

Pledged an eternity together 

Have now lost each other, somewhere in between. 

The day we separated, might be,

The day we last met, perhaps forever.