Ricochet

I press my damp cheek to the starched sheets

and sigh, my shaking hand slides on the cotton

and feels the creases where you had lain

that musky scent clings to my hand

just like you- clinging so desperately

never wanting to let go

but now, an unwanted reminder to bear

you haven’t quite made up your mind yet

whether to stay or go

you are like electric air

whistling in my ears, ringing down the hall

pulling myself up and onto the bed

I scrunch the pillow and press it to my lips

the last stands of hair still where they had fallen

no tears stains- you were too brave for that

touch the sheets that once housed

your superhero body

and carried me on your shoulders

throwing me to the sky with glee

your book still by the bed with its mark, 

at chapter 10

near the end

pages curled, worn, yellowed

well-loved

I can’t fill the unbearable silence alone

without those anecdotes you told so well

so instead hum an old sea shanty

and you’re reborn as a pirate on the high seas

dancing a jig, face exploding with laughter

armed with that vibrant image

which cartwheels and star-jumps in my head

I stand upright, tall, to a height you once knew

and for a second I could swear

that my knotted heart loosened just a bit

Reviews

[NoneOfYourBusiness akaK..]

wraparound beautiful pain ~ your poem a velvet arrow between ribs~ gorgeous descriptives~