Knowing

Knowing looks and sideways glances
Entire conversations exchanged without a spoken word,
smiles flash across each face--meaning achieved.
A comfort found in silence, not typically held
yet a tension exists in moments of conflict--eyes unmet.
A want, no need--to go deeper, to be whole--
Shrouded in years of fear and failed expectations.
Knee-jerk reaction...pull away, retreat, hide.
False sense of safety in the dark corners of oneself;
Appears all too inviting, calling for a return home.
Yet, further we go out, into the light of the center of the room,
Vulnerable and timidly we stand, waiting for the pain to come again.
A truth that exists, an understanding--there is no going back.
There is accountability here, as the other stands watching, also healing.