‘The Risk of Blank Spaces’ by Emma Lee

He confesses    he couldn’t tell her
                       he feared she didn’t feel the same
                       how to know?
                       she was polite,
                       no unnecessary words.

Write what he couldn’t speak?
    How to pick the words?
        Print was too formal.
            Could she read his handwriting?
               Would she interpret his sprawl
                        with unintended meanings?

Better be blank.
Let conversations fizzle out.

                                            She wonders what she’s done wrong.
                                            If he cares, why does she feel uncared for?

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Meet the Poet!

Emma Lee’s publications include “The Significance of a Dress” (Arachne, 2020) and “Ghosts in the Desert” (IDP, 2015). She co-edited “Over Land, Over Sea,” (Five Leaves, 2015), was Reviews Editor for The Blue Nib, and reviews for magazines and blogs at https://emmalee1.wordpress.com.