Hey.

The word that you hear most often.

Just a friendly greeting.

Everyone says it.

That one kid that lives across the hall from you.

The girl from your group project last semester.

As easily as it flows from their mouths

it flows from mine.

Without feeling, thought or trouble.

But then their comes you.

And at the the site

My mouth goes dry

And a word that once was so simple to say

Becomes unable to pass from my lips

As it seems as my mouth suddenly fills with concrete

my tongue is weighed down

heat flares to my cheeks

and my stomach erupts like the 4th of July

My world is jolted from its axis

For I come off balance

Like having vertigo

and walking in a straight line

Thoughts swirling about in my brain

bringing the feelings back from the depths

with that lovely sting of regret

But I keep my head up

Though my ankles wobble

I keep walking

As I pass with a smile

I hear the word, "hey"

But it's no longer simple

No, it's no longer a greeting

It's something much more than that

It's a feeling.