Side Effects

I don't say the words,

They hide beneath my tongue.

Uncertainly, they remain unspoken;

Side effects of a heart once stung.

They stay caged within me,

Their cadence a reliable tune;

A persistent, driven reminder of

what could've been with you.

I restrain them with caution,

Silence my defense.

If your unsteady touch invades my walls,

Merely a fractured fuse of light will be left.