My heart is like a drum,

my breath is tight and numb.

A thought—should I move in?

Or flee and not begin.

She shifts, her lips so near,

her touch dissolves my fear.

The world itself, on pause,

as time suspends its laws.

A sparkle in her eyes,

a rush I can't disguise.

Her lips meet mine—askew,

fire bursts in sinew.

And then—it slips away,

fast forward to the gray.

My hands, now lined with years,

still trace the love held here.

Since here we are again,

that boy and girl back when.

For as our lips depart,

I'm fifteen in my heart.