Walking - No Prancing - down
the familiar gold-tinted hallway.
No remnant of fear or hate even
tries to pick at my brain.

Laughing - No Guffawing - rises
from my bright eyed friends.
Their dimples are angular
and their cheeks full of tranquil heat.

Slipping - no leaping - from my
mouth shoots a joke meant only boost their elation.
But their eyes instantly reveal a bruised heart
that is just as quickly replaced by a concealing smile.

Stressing - no panicking - I
moisten my quickly drying tongue.
What could they have thought
that filled their eyes with that cryptic far-off hurt?

Clicking - no snapping - it
suddenly floods my anxious mind.
I did not like the answer I found,
and it flails about against my conscious.

Although it only slipped and
the victim had formerly brushed it to the floor,
The mistake keeps me up nauseated tonight,
as I am reminded who I am.

I sat long in silence that night-listening and pondering.
Tomorrow when I stand again, I’ll be sure to put some thought behind my words.