You’re new

into my space

We’ve known of each other

have mutual friends

yet only recently began

to breathe the same air

In this exchange

you’ve given me

The Love Plague

an infection of

joy

uncertainty

and familiarity

That fluttered tummy

my sweaty palms

the symptoms worsen

when I see your face

which happens

on the field

and in my dreams

and while making tea

and falling off to sleep

The Love Plague

makes your face replicate

when I meet other guys

a state of delirium

whispering to me that they

can’t do high-fives the way you do

I just can’t shake it

And yet you

are my only cure

the antidote

to this suffering

suffering that forms

an ache

that occurs

when we part

a fever that grows higher

in your absence

though you wouldn’t know

by looking at me

since

I carry this disease

stoically