Thursday, February 13, 2014

Shadow Soldier (Poem 318)

Shadow soldier at the fete, 
dancing, teasing, I laugh 
at myself, only in time 
to capture one last glimpse 

Arm around my shoulders, in 
the company of night-masked 
revelers, he walks me into 
the frozen aqua dawn

We step off the path to kiss 
a bit awkwardly--in a patch of
winter berries like droplets 
of blood on the snow--while 
the others go on without us 

Later, alone on the fourth floor, 
amid stacks of dusty volumes 
in German and French, I remember 

His hand in my back pocket 
and the empty city streets 
and the garnet-strewn ground 
and decide I can work with this

Oh, my God, I was so much 
braver when I was young.

(c) 2014, by Hannah Six

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