"Aaron, have you ever had
a burning in your chest
that made you just want to be free?"
It was a warm afternoon
when she asked him this
as they sat on the shore of the sea.
Well, Aaron just tugged at his hair
and he took a very long time to reply.
By the time that he spoke
she'd forgotten she'd asked
and was lost in the clouds of the sky.
He said, "Kelly, I don't think
I've ever wanted as much
to be free
as I've longed to be known.
And of the things that I hate
when I look at my life,
the worst is my being alone.
The worst is my being alone."
The rest of his words
he kept from her ears
because he thought
she might not understand.
And she didn't reply
she couldn't figure out how,
because the fire in her heart
had been fanned.
Oh, of all of the things known
that he could've spoken that day,
he chose one from deep down inside.
Without intending her to,
he caused her to confess
her false confidence
and how she had lied.
She said,
"Aaron, I don't think I've ever
wanted as much
to be free
as I've longed to be known.
And of the things that I hate
when I look at my life
the worst is my being alone.
The worst is my being alone."
As they headed home,
neither of them could speak a word.
And they held their own spirits to blame.
But at the pulse of the wave,
they both turned around,
thinking someone was calling
their name.

~Don Chaffer