I Never Meant to Notice
I never meant to notice
the curve of your smile,
how it arrives without warning
and softens a face
that usually looks ready
to challenge the world.
I never meant to remember
small moments that should have faded,
or how certain words,
spoken without ceremony,
could linger long after
the conversation had ended.
You are, by all reasonable measures,
an exhausting person.
You argue.
You tease.
You wear expressions
that leave everyone guessing
whether you are amused,
annoyed,
or simply enjoying the confusion.
And yet,
somewhere between
the laughter and the disagreements,
between the noise of ordinary days
and the quietness of passing moments,
I found myself pausing.
Not because you became different.
But because for a moment,
I caught a glimpse of something gentler
beneath all that certainty.
And that is the trouble.
Not your smile.
Not your voice.
Not even the kindness
you try so hard to disguise.
The trouble is that
you were supposed to remain
a familiar story,
already understood.
Instead,
you became a question.
And now,
whenever I think I have answered it,
you laugh,
say something unexpected,
and become impossible
to figure out all over again.
So I leave you where you are;
half mystery,
half annoyance,
and entirely more memorable
than you have any right to be.
Copyright © Mhiz Rhyme | Year Posted 2026
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