...If Only

"...If Only"
If only we never had met...
or maybe instead 
we would only catch 
a passing glance
     and never knew it,
only then would we 
never have found
these kisses of ours.

Never to have these memories,
   that otherwise 
   would never have happened;
Never to feel your touch,
   or smell the scent of your hair;
Never to hear your voice
   or experience those small moments
   in your embrace;
I wouldn't know your fears,
your passions,
your life, or your family.
Wouldn't have these memories
of you laughing.

If I had never met you,
only then would we never know.

But we do know 
how we feel to the touch,
I know the way 
your lips feel against mine,
   how time 
   seemed to slip away
   when I was with you.
I know the way you sound 
when we made love,
the way you looked 
with the early morning light
carressing your sleeping face,
I know how life felt 
as we traded the day hours 
for the night.

Only your words,
   your eyes,
only the way you looked at me,
only you
felt where I should have been,
only you
was what felt real and right;
   among the stream of countless
   experiences and memories 
   before us,
only your touch
is what made sense
to me.

We were a slice of time
folded over upon itself
like a mirror reflecting infinity.

I know what it feels like
to only
want to love you
until we got to the best parts
of life
with you.

If only we had never met,
then this pain wouldn't 
feel so real.
These memories wouldn't exist
and my life would have different 
things to relive.

If only 
we had known that our love 
was so fleeting 
then perhaps we wouldn't have 
taken the chance,
then I could look out 
from the window and see others 
walking hand in hand
never knowing 
what it would feel like 
to take that chance.

-Armando Torres