I saw him on the rock face of a warehouse floor
and he saw me, my tongue tripping up my mind
and when we met, it was easier to notice
how our eyes caught in parallel heights
and seemed to share a frequency of blood
an easy laugh, a carefree smile
a confidante in friend’s love’s trials
no rush of lust or quirky interest
just platonic matches, close as blood
but then i saw a hazy pool
where his eyes should have been and
like mine they hid a secret
but he wouldn’t say, and our mouths stayed shut
but our eyes betrayed us
and then i thought, and i looked again and saw
that those scars upon his shoulders
were mirror images of mine
and then i wondered, and then i realized
that maybe we were perfect replicas
of our different, darker times
and while our smiles and laughs protect us
our eyes continue to disobey
and scream what we would keep silent
spoken only by reflected scars