Mark R Slaughter (1957)

Beneath a line of lashes,
Embers dim,
Catch me -

My eyes
Push a little harder,
Stalling thoughts;

I mustn't think! -
To miss a blink is all:

Brain-cries -
I sense them -
Glisten
In a tear.

I can't decipher -
Who's to touch her? -
Reassure by
Nudging near.

The shoulder shows,
Taunts me;
Her slender neck -
It haunts me.

Should I move? -
Closer helps -
Distance isn't necessary
In the frame of what is.

And risk:
Outside the box: the ‘What if? '

And you -
Trapped inside your call,

With me waiting on the waves
To question: ‘Will I fall? '

Copyright © Mark R Slaughter 2012