How It Began to Lean

It started playfully.

Almost carelessly.

A greeting, a laugh, curiosity about a name 

mine lingering on yours longer than necessary.

I liked how you answered without trying too hard,

how you didn’t rush to impress me.

There was humor first.

Lightness.

That easy back and forth where nothing is at stake

and yet something quietly is.

I noticed how quickly our messages slipped into evenings,

how questions became personal without becoming heavy.

You called me mysterious.

I called you unusual.

We were already circling something

neither of us wanted to name.

I didn’t know it then,

but I had already begun to lean toward you.