Love–All
Two players meet, no names confessed,
A net between, our hearts at rest.
No sparks, no tilt, no claim, no flame—
Just echoes dancing through the game.
The ball was struck, the silence deep,
We played as if we meant to keep
Our distance close, our stories bare—
Too guarded still, too shy to care.
15–Love
But then—you smiled, a curve, a breeze,
A serve that bent my world with ease.
My grip went slack, my breath withdrew,
The mask I wore began to skew.
You aimed no shot, yet broke my ground—
Not past the line, but far more profound.
15–All
I laughed too late, a faltered cheer,
You looked, and something shifted near.
My serve returned, not swift, but shy—
Your gaze became my net, my sky.
The air grew dense, the game more bold,
One inch of space no longer cold.
30–15
A rally born of wit and chance,
You played in prose, I moved in dance.
You leaned, I yielded—ebb and flow,
A match we played and didn't know.
Each word you spoke, a secret spun,
A tension strung where none had run.
30–All
Then equal still—we paused, we stared,
Not quite prepared, yet unimpaired.
Your silence matched my tender tone,
Two hearts now drifting, not alone.
Not foe nor friend, not yet aligned,
But something soft we left unsigned.
40–30
Your fingers brushed the thought I kept,
A truth where all my longing slept.
You smiled like dusk, I blinked like day,
Afraid you'd vanish if I'd stay.
The scoreboard swayed, but not our core—
I knew I felt, but nothing more.
Deuce
And here we stand, the world turned low,
No points to earn, no place to go.
Just breath on strings and steady eyes,
The final tie, where meaning lies.
We do not serve, we do not flee—
We linger here: a maybe, a "we."