The Sun In The Room Poem by Lonnie Hicks

I rotated near her outer planets
hovering beyond Saturn's rings

allowing comets to go by me
unseen.

She was the Sun
attracting all of us
to the middle of the solar system,

and I was now just behind Jupiter
still, but being drawn
toward her center.

The buzz in the room;
the office party,
feigned humor,
the dip
the chips
all revolving around her.

Gravity drew everyone
to her.
She was the source of light in the room,

laugh like summer rain
it came in soft sheets,

her hair
she flipped
and it fell in separate stands;
flowing perfectly in place
arrayed against her
backless dress

creatin ripples in a pond.

She touched you when
she talked
talked close to your face
absorbed you;

others
stood by
transfixed
each waiting their turn
for her attention.

Her skin was alive
and you could see
the champagne
move to her cheeks
making them glow.

You could see imprints
on her shoulder
where she'd been touched
by a finger-tip,

the nape of her neck
curved away sweepingly
and you wanted to walk around her
to follow it's path
to the other side beneath her ears
beneath her cheeks.

The more you looked
the more you wanted to see.

I draw closer still
not looking
but looking for distraction,
at the chips and dip station,

cupping my wine glass
looking through it
out the other side
to keep her in view.

But I look up and she is gone.
Gone.

And I hear:
'You work upstairs don't you? '

I knew her voice
I knew her smell
her yellow aura,
those liquid eyes.

But I didn't look at her,
I kept her face in my minds eye
to see it would match her
when I finally looked.

It did taking my breath away.

'You hear me'
You are pretending not to hear me.'

I didn't breathe,
I didn't move.
I didn't look her way.

'I hear you' I said
It's just that I can't look
You might disappear if I look
and I might tear up
realizing that you were just a dream.'

'I'm not a dream she said.
I'm real.
I'm right here.'

'If you are really there 'then take my hand'
I said
and let's take a walk'

And that was how we met.