Chemistry

It started with a single hello.

He looked up from his textbook, and smiled.

Then, he said that two-syllable word.

And from there, casual conversations, as he

passed her way, turned into hour-long talks.

Before she knew it, he made the smile on her face

come from a place deep inside her soul

she wasn't aware existed.

From across the parking lot, across the library floors,

their eyes always somehow found their way to each other.

And his presence always consumed her.  Even from a distance.

She longed to scream to the world her feelings for him,

but no words could describe the meaning of his

mere existence in her life.

Somehow, she never found the words.

To even tell him.

Chemistry is hard to come by, she had been warned.

But once you feel it, experience it, there's no

denying its intensity.

You can try to run, turn your back on it,

slam the door on its face, and still

it will be there.

On the other side of the door.

She tried to convince herself that he wasn't a rarity.

She should have realized that such feelings were.

And although chemistry may never go away,

the people it connects can easily do so.

(written April 20, 2004)

Photo: Andres De Leon