Departing Flights

if i told you

“i love you”

would it be different?

not now—

not after the fact

over the phone

not in a letter of abstract form

a moment missed

we parted ways

my entirety erupted

three words

my knotted heart

inches from the surface

you

i could tell you now—it’s true

but

if i told you then

would you have said it too?