icons and poem
The Beginning
They’re finally together
in the same room,
the tension flowing
smoothly
from nerve to nerve.
Just a quick check
on each other’s
conditions
and it’s back to business
as usual.
Vague responses to
earnest questions,
and she needs a
qualifier.
Searching, but not
retrieving.
These are the indistinct
mutters she hears.
I told you not to
come back here
for me!
She says the words,
she speaks her mind.
I didn’t think
you
meant
it.
Revealing herself
to his gaze.
Sudden realization.
Sudden comprehension.
She loves him.
Their hands come
together.
Overlapping, touching
serenely.
The metal around her wrists
warms at his touch.
She breathes him in
and he surrenders
to her beauty
and sincerity.
The truth spills out,
gushes from his lips
like blood from
an untidy wound.
She struggles to comprehend.
He’s leaving.
I trust them because you told me to.
The words, unfamiliar
sharp and hazardous
to her ears.
What does he know?
A disturbance
breaks their connection.
The nerves detach.
They let go.
She silently breaks,
her cheeks long damp
from the sweat
and tears.
Parting words.
Solemn goodbyes.
Customary closure
to the most unstable
of relationships.
She believes it’s over.
His voice
soft and tender
in her ear.
But I will come back here
for you.
She knows it’s only begun.
They’re finally together
in the same room,
the tension flowing
smoothly
from nerve to nerve.
Just a quick check
on each other’s
conditions
and it’s back to business
as usual.
Vague responses to
earnest questions,
and she needs a
qualifier.
Searching, but not
retrieving.
These are the indistinct
mutters she hears.
I told you not to
come back here
for me!
She says the words,
she speaks her mind.
I didn’t think
you
meant
it.
Revealing herself
to his gaze.
Sudden realization.
Sudden comprehension.
She loves him.
Their hands come
together.
Overlapping, touching
serenely.
The metal around her wrists
warms at his touch.
She breathes him in
and he surrenders
to her beauty
and sincerity.
The truth spills out,
gushes from his lips
like blood from
an untidy wound.
She struggles to comprehend.
He’s leaving.
I trust them because you told me to.
The words, unfamiliar
sharp and hazardous
to her ears.
What does he know?
A disturbance
breaks their connection.
The nerves detach.
They let go.
She silently breaks,
her cheeks long damp
from the sweat
and tears.
Parting words.
Solemn goodbyes.
Customary closure
to the most unstable
of relationships.
She believes it’s over.
His voice
soft and tender
in her ear.
But I will come back here
for you.
She knows it’s only begun.