A Kindling Soul

Sometimes when you talk, I watch but forget to listen. It’s not that I don’t want to;  But oh, the way those eyes glisten.  Sometimes when you smile, The shadows on your face dance; And a momentary glint in your eyes, Becomes the highlight of the glance. Sometimes, I can’t recall Telling you all you know about me.  Did you read my mind? Thought I was the silent variety. Sometimes, I wonder why  You’re the only surprise I never disliked. Never thought tailor-made words  Just needed the right eyes. Sometimes, not knowing is easy; Eyes closed, heads down, in bliss. But, when the lights come on, Something’s going to give. 

Out of sight out of mind But under the surface, What survives? Who decides? The tug of war unravels, But the push and pull persists. Stay vigilant, on roads winding; The drive, the view- it’s exciting. But mind over matter  Only works when it doesn’t. Latent longing, long unlearnt. Chronically choked and churned. Like a wildfire unleashed, Searing through autumn leaves. Scarlet surfaces, swiftly; Baring it all, briskly.  A one track mind may not foresee Under tangled roots, there is a seed. Redolent reverie, in the wind   wafts - Bear in mind, it’s all scattered, silent and soft.

Some questions birth more questions. Some answers do so too. Remnant, resonant, recitations. Déjà senti or jamais vu? A lack of questions too, from time to time, can cause many more to show.   Liminal utterances, unsaid, unmimed; Eyes play both mirrors, and windows. Some, on vestiges, cast undue lights. And in the wake of recall shadows shift. Pristine, precise; impressions, insights. Few felt; fewer left; admittedly adrift. Small dalliances; less than tenth of a quarter; Dominoes dancing: repartee, riposte; Enveloping endless gray matter, Each exchange, a bit more than most.  In light, in darkness, in synchrony,  covariably sehnsucht blooms. Always taking more than it gives, Like time,  endlessly it looms.

Some lines should not be crossed. But they can be treaded, lightly. Then taut, and tense, and terse, Sometimes, can become blurred. Once indubitable;  Now, held more blithely. A line in the sand may shift with the tide. Those toeing it will notice first. Flitting eyes, fleeting times; Even the air holds its breath. Sinking into a granular minefield, Awaiting an intense inburst. Pressed together, lips form a line too. Reining reactions, concealing cogitations. Playful, pointed, piercing, Words and looks and touches. Bitten within, sometimes faltering. Evermore under observation. A thin line lives between foresight and folly. It holds much to read between. The safety within, the spur of beyond. What exists out there, what remains to be found? Who holds the line, who steps over? Once the line is drawn can it be unseen?

There are a few fingerprints Etched upon this heart of mine. Of those I love. Of those I’ve loved. Of those I‘ve been loved by. Persisting from the basal touch, Immutable, till this day. Not propinquity, Nor time, it seems  Are things which they obey. Some exist in multitudes. Some, much more scarcely. A few, engraved; Potent, Ingrained. Crafting a bespoke labyrinth. Distinctive, each, mutative; Morphing the shape of my heart. Impressions indelible; Impacts ineffable; Enabling, endowing, en garde. A scant few I’d have scorched, But what could lighten the abyss? In obscurity, Murky, they remain, Cimmerian, even eclipsed.

So easy to love,  they all said of her, A smile so bright,  Worries and fears soon blur. The twinkle in her eyes - almost ever present, Clever, and quick,  She is effervescent. Comforting words,  soft and sincere, The darkest clouds, in her presence, disappear. Pretty easy to love,  she mused to herself, Just a soft touch, or a kind word, For her diffidence to dispel. All her heart desired were some little things, A written word, a stolen glance, maybe some paper rings A warm caress on a chilly night, A whispered "I’m here"  in the dim light. Every coup d'œil, every forehead kiss, Every breath shared Turned into her bliss. Too easy to love,  Too quick, they murmured low, As the toll of her love begins to show. Quick to trust,  quicker to fall. Plunging headfirst,  always giving her all. Beguiled, betrayed,  And broken, thereof How arduous it is, To be easy to love.