silhouette

when she entered the room

though the noise blacked out

the sound of the door closing

behind her,

her shadow washed over

like maple sugar candy

dissolving on the tongue

warm within the mouth &

cups of coffee in hand

met the café tables simultaneously

with the pausing or

complete cessation of

conversations that had been

going on---

men, teenage boys, teenage

girls & women

all eyed her up & down,

less because of her beauty

which was shocking in itself

(but we’ve all seen beauty &

beauty becomes defined by

the insistence of the airbrusher

or the graphic designer

anyway),

but more because of the way

in which she presented herself

with every gesture demanding

the attention of the room

without a word, without a

slinky outfit, without a sound,

without the need to be liked

tattooed on her forehead,

rather she walked with the

allure of being interesting---

a quality which few

genuinely possess & one

which may take a lifetime

to realistically accrue.