Sharon Namwalizi Poems

There's something in the way you look at me,
A softness in your smile when you speak.
Everything about you is mesmerizing,
I catch myself staring—
...

I met my younger self.
I found her with her head buried in a book,
her hands scrabbling away, fingers stained with ink
on her bedroom floor.
...

Tired of pretending I don't notice the way you look at me,
the way your eyes light up when we speak —
and how empty they seem when we don't.
...

The urge to define
What we felt—
While the weight of outside pressure
Offered no help.
...

I finally convinced myself
I was over you.
My heart no longer skips a beat
at the sound of your name,
...

I still failed to meet your gaze,
because then you would know my pain.
And I was scared—
that if our eyes met,
...

If I didn't believe in what we could have had,
why do I miss it?
Your faith in us was so strong
that I almost started to believe it too.
...

I haven't looked and seen people in a while.
Nowadays, all we do are quick glances
so we're not called weird.
But honestly—
...

My inability to love romantically…
I'm finally standing before you—
a moment we both anticipated.
...

And then it all dawned on me,
My mind couldn't fully comprehend.
But this is the closest I've gotten
To understanding why it always felt familiar.
...