To ______, With Tongue in Cheek

I could flash my brilliance a thousand times,
Jovially flaunting my vanity,
But your muted smirks and deep eyes
Would still remain the only things to shine.

And though we tease and taunt,
Hinting at a hushed, future fun,
The present is lonely and long,
And your pictures leave me increasingly undone.

So I’ll humble myself, floundering, while I’m away,
Pacing my thoughts and rehearsing my speeches
For when I’ll find you again,
Refusing to be left with nothing to say.

Shall I work the courage to finally be a man,
To put down the petty flirting,
To follow through smiling glances,
To find your lips, and to take your hand?

Only the rest of my exile shall know
By what leaps and bounds my feelings will grow.