Tick… Tick… Tick… Tick… A boy, a girl. A spark, a match. Banter and laughter, Flirtation chased after. Patience and planning, A night enchanting— They didn’t know yet, The dial was set. It tracked all the seconds, It watched and it beckoned, It waited for love to arrive, That gentle, sweet, inevitable dive. The dial ticked, then hummed, then chimed, Always knowing love; it was never mistimed. When breath would pause and hands held bound, And hearts would trade without a spoken vow. An ebb and flow of friendship swelling into more, Until the word itself felt wrong at its core. The dial hummed and sang and rang clear in February, When they knew love would hold them close—forever, even buried.