A Delicate Breath

by Rochelle Cunningham
© 2008

It was a day like today. It felt like babies smell.
Innocence reeking of a peculiar stench. Feeling
Of a strong desire to be

With someone like you.

Knowledge cascades over the daylight. Distorted. Begging. Clawing.
Hanging on my spine, until a brief sigh
On the westward wind tunnels an escape.

I watched your name tip-toe across yellow tulips. I whisper it
Quickly to myself, looking about to see
If they heard me

Sober shadows protect me while I slip away
Somewhere I shouldn’t. The damp grass is a pillow
Of reminiscence, somewhere in time

With someone like you

Reflections remain planted
Firmly in their prints – refusing to surrender. I wait
For eyes Tender blue. Summer green. Please, not of drowning brown.

The wilting moss knows my pain as I raise my face to be
Welcomed; in some truth of the day. Instead, received
By a muted rain – appearing

Before me, where I smell a moment of trust.
Through a delicate breath
On a day like today

With someone like you