blue-eyed dare

what if I told you everything
what if I offered you more.

what if I took your hand in mine
and unfolded myself for you
what if I dropped my cover for you
and showed you what’s inside.

would you run
would you flinch
would you laugh.

would you give me one of those
long dry silent stares
that freezes time
makes me wither
and sets me back on my heels.

what if I showed you how to love me
then found you didn’t care
what if I thought you understood me
then found out I was wrong
what if I thought I knew you
then found you with someone else.

you move me
I want you
I want to open to you
I want us to open to each other.

you make me strong
you make me weak
you make me hard
you make me nervous
you draw me in
you push me back.

you try to hide your fire
but I see it.

you seem to want something from me
but I feel like if I tried to give it to you
you wouldn’t take it.

you’re a soft sexy beautiful blue-eyed dare
a smokin’ hot gamble lookin’ to pay off
a tropical pool at the foot of a cliff.

ten years ago
I would’ve taken that dare
I would’ve gone all in
I would’ve jumped in feet first
but today

you’re a risk

I can’t

afford

to take.

(PDF version)

The blue-eyed dare by Rick Belden, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.