FIRST SIGHT Poem by Stefan Hertmans

She's like a panther pausing
Because her prey appears.
Something in me rolls up tight
And listens to the wind
Between that longed-for image and what's to come.

It becomes a we, a knot of quiet,
Gestures without echo, only that light.
Convergence of muscles and ideas
That make us wait for each other.

You do not flinch. I can't breathe.
We put things off and suffer pain.
Speech will be deafening.

You only look up when it's unbearable.
We drift out of our field of view
To a horizon without us.
How blue is the reflection; in it
We disappear.