‘stay
away’
She said
Her sword steady
If not heavy
For her petite frame
Pointed at me
Threatening
I’d
say
If I were to gauge her intent
- Huh -
My mind
snickered
I scoffed silently
Doing all I could
To thin the rage
Growing
Shadowing me
Our eyes
locked
In fear?
Hate?
I couldn’t quite tell which
It was
Or were
Or is
Still
She was
beautiful
Aiming her gleaming weapon
Poised a few feet away
Her eyes
bright
Likely
With the anticipation
Of my death
Did she
really want to do battle out here?
There is no place to retreat
Forget
That she and I meet
Here
On either side
of this line
Forget
That she and I met
Here
Once upon a time
With smiles
Did she
really think she could win?
Her only path
Led to the sea
Or a high stone wall but a yard
or two behind her
I held
her gaze
My breath
laboured
Worked diligently to keep my ego
out of battle
Toiled earnestly to dilute my
saturating anger
‘stay
away’
She banished
Louder this time
It was
enough
Enough to
spur my ire
I swung
my blade across hers
This
caught her by surprise
For some reason
Her gaze
broke mine
Forcefully
I pulled her into me
Quickly drove her back
Blades still fastened
I threw
my weight
Behind my
sword
Crushed
her in retreat
Several feet
Against
the stone wall
Incensed
I didn’t
care how wild my eyes were
As they
met her stunned look
I exerted
all I could
Kept her pinned
Against the wall
Against me
Heaving to
steady my breath
‘You-make-me…so…angry’
I forced out severely
‘Why?’
She
asked, quick with disdain
Finding courage in her challenge
With
gritted teeth
‘Probably…’
I reclaimed my
weight
Loosed my grip
‘…Because
I’m in love with you.’
- Huh -
I sneered
At myself
Disgusted
By
the Love I felt for her
When
she so clearly
Despised me
Forged
a line out of her hate
Or
hurt
I
couldn’t quite tell which it was
Or
were
Or
is
I straightened
Watched
her face
Still beautiful
Despite my admission
We held
silent
A mirror
image
Refraction
Shards of glass
Catching
sun in the sand
Slicing
gently through bare feet
Weapon in
hand
I felt its
burden
Slowly dropped its point
To the ground
Moments
passed
Without a
sound
She flung her blade into the air
Held
my stare
Tore it
down
Before my
chest
Into
herself
She fell
to her knees
Lost
balance
Tipped forward
Hung on her steel
Panting
My eyes
on hers
Gazed
In horror
We held
silent
A mirror
image
Refraction
The glint of her
blade
Catching
sun in the sky
Slicing
gently through the air
…
Timelessness
…
I gasped
suddenly
Brutally
found myself back in my body
…
The glint of her
blade
Catching
sun in the sky
Slicing
gently through the air
…
I moved
in
Thrust my
sword against hers
She fell back
I grasped her wrist
She dropped her blade
Formed a fist
Beat
me until she tired
I sat
atop her
Grateful
she was alive
Held her
face in my hands
Caught
her eyes
Dark with tears
She was crying
Pulling at my
wrists
Struggling to be
free
From me
Suddenly
I felt
her pain
Shame
Here I
was
This
monster
She
feared
Or
hated
I
couldn’t tell which it was
Or
were
Or is
I dropped
my hands
Began sobbing
It shook me off her
Drained away all my ugliness
Drained away the disfigurement
of my feelings for her
Drained away in me, all that
frightened her
I pulled
myself up
Still weeping
I turned
Staggered away
From hate
From Love
In
celebration of Passion, the hope-for, and the Joy found in Happy Endings
I remain,
Lesley
Hallelujah
Heartist
