distant
slurred
reverberant
like a voice
in a canyon
I hear her calling
in my mind
my name
rolling
sweet as nectar
from lips
soft
as orchid petals
full
as a bursting peach
glistening
deep coral
as they wrapped
softly
‘round each
pouted syllable
when she bid me
tender farewell
so long ago
our fingertips
had strained
to grasp
until
the final sensation
of warmth
of touch
had faded
and they had
drifted apart
I had struggled
to tear my eyes
from her
tears
that glistened
on her lashes
and around
her swollen
crystal blues
to slip softly
over the crests
of her velvet
cheeks
then
down the contour
of her face
flushed as sunset
to lightly salt
her quivering lips
and
as I passed
numb and dazed
through the tunnel
of the
loading gate
toward the jet
that took me
to hell
I had
at that moment
locked the image
of that sorrowed
face of love
deep in my heart
It had proved
my salvation
my only grasp
on sanity
in those
horrific years
my lips
too
had quivered
on that day
with the sting
of separation
and the chilling
knowledge
I would
soon taste
the bitter blood
of war
foul with the
stench of death
having not yet
departed
I had already
longed
to gaze again
into her
brilliant blue eyes
and taste
her sweetness
yet
as I return
this day
trying to face
reality from
30,000 feet
I taste the salt
of sadness
for I fear
a kiss
from me
with my killer’s
mouth
will forever defile
the fragile innocence
of those
luscious lips
soft
as orchid petals
full
as a bursting peach
that glistened
and quivered
when last we parted
