Pale Reaction

You nodded once, but your lips were still
A flicker of thought you didn’t spill
I held that glance like a breaking wave
But you pulled back with a smile so brave
Pale reaction, nothing loud
But I heard it through the crowd
Your silence curved like spoken lines
And filled the space between the signs
You moved your hand, then stopped halfway
That almost-touch won’t go away
You speak in shifts, in minor keys
In hesitant truths and subtleties
No loud goodbyes, no heavy doors
But every pause is what I stored