Hide and Seek

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Hide and Seek
By Pat Wallace

Inches away from me you sit,
Both of us holding our breaths,
Afraid to alert the other of our presence.
We are hiding in plain view,
Aware of each other's hiding spots,
The silence between a brother and sister
Louder than any words
That could close the space.

Remember when we were young
And rain quietly tapped
At the bathroom glass
As we played hide and seek?

I hid behind the door
As you searched the room,
Your back turned,
My lungs burning.
Finally I could take it no more
And let out a loud gasp for air.
You screamed and ran out of the room.

We were just kids then,
And what could be hidden
Over our shoulders was scarier
Than anything that could be outside.

How little we knew of the world.

Now it seems
What's scariest
Is what is between us now,
As silence becomes time
And space big enough
To swallow us both whole.
But I want you to know
If you want to breathe
I won't run out of the room.