Exchange

Swapping belongings after a breakup is strange and awkward

On a breezy summer afternoon
I walked with grim purpose down an alley
Green with the leaves of the season
To the soundtrack of a small army
Of screaming children.
Despite all the energy around me
My legs seemed to move through molasses,
Protesting against the day.

Raven hair in the distance;
Hair I had seen on a hundred nights
Splaying a sable fan on the pillow,
Black strands mirroring the branches of
Oak trees that frame the road.
Couldn’t smell it from here,
The hint of lavender stayed with me
Long after the scent left my nostrils.
I could still remember its silken touch,
Tickling my face to keep me from sleeping;
The breeze whipped it into a frenzy
Covering her face. But still

I knew it was her.
It’s odd what you remember. The
Way someone sits might as well be a signature,
How they hold their head when they’re sad,
How their legs cross, and when they’re anxious
The top one bobs like a metronome,
Bouncing to a nervous tune.
Even her hands. Still too far away to really see them, but
I knew how they would be. Thumb gently stroking
The skin on the left, as it clenched the small carrier bag
With knuckles white-hot around the handle.

I hadn’t even noticed the approach.
A few feet now, her daydream lifts
As the headphones fall from her ears.
We talk. There is an echo of affection in her words,
An effort to spark the same closeness we once shared.
But the flame falls on damp kindling, sputter, and
Die.

Walking away I know she is
Watching.
Hazel eyes like the bark
Either side of me.

Reviews

[trying_to_write]

I've read a lot of your writing now and I have to say, I'm in love with the variety of structures and diversity of topics you write about. You have a true talent.

[PatrickPink]

Your words give me hope that I can achieve something with what I'm doing, and I am eternally grateful for them! I can only write about what I've experienced, and I'd rather challenge myself with new topics than recycle old ones! Thank you again!

[Jade]

once it's gone, it's all gone, and stays gone, I like this write you put a lot into it.

[PatrickPink]

Thank you so much! It was a very cathartic piece for me; sometimes, it's better that things stay gone!

[Chris Shaw]

When it's gone, it's gone. Always sad when that happens and the other party is still living in hope. I enjoyed the detail in your lines. It tells me that once she was important to you. You noticed the little things. I'm smiling here because I can have six inches cut from my hair and my other half doesn't notice :)

Chris

[PatrickPink]

Thank you! You're deductions are correct, although I must admit this was an encounter I could only cope with after a fairly lengthy period of separation! Sometimes it's interesting how small the details you can remember clearly are! Thanks for your review Chris!