Adrift

So there I was
Nodding in the background
Not quite awake and yet
Not really asleep either
And I suddenly realised
That I had totally
Missed
Something very important
She was talking and
I wasn’t really listening
But I was nodding,
Which is important.
And her face was absorbed
Totally
In what she was saying
Every emotion sliding across it
Like a huge cinema screen
So large that I wasn’t
Listening
And some part of me
Must have tuned in
Because it hit me that
She had said
Something
That I needed to hear
Crucial words that
Meant so much
And me being a total idiot
Was thinking about
Watching TV
And that book I was reading
Or what I might be doing later
Don’t remember
Not important
Focusing on myself
As usual
And not giving her the
Respect
She deserved and thought
She had
With me
That I was someone
Who listened and was
Interested
In what she thought
And how she felt
And I kind of was
Only
Not at that moment
She was speaking
So much
And it was going on for
So long
That I just
Drifted
For a moment
Not long but
Long enough
I looked at her
Full of regret and
Trying
To correct my mistake to
Take back
My inattention
What?
I said
Which was a
Stupid thing
To say
She turned
Looked at me
Then looked
Away
And stopped
Speaking
And that was
When we
Drifted
Apart

(c) AM Hunter