Albatross

realizations and hard truths

your image
a wavering reflection in the cafe window
holds my attention
your mouth opens and closes
gasping for reasons to cry

it has begun
despite my warnings
absolution is an almost invisible line
ending with a barbed hook

i am the albatross
flying great solitary distances
wings extended, neck outstretched
feeding on the flesh of fish
swallowing my prey whole

turning i acknowledge your need
your need for me to see your face
to absorb the wreckage
the tear-stained suffering

buffering desperate denial

  

truth is a silver thread stretching between us

crossing over cloud-darkened tide pools of

recriminations and regret...my penance 

a greasy coating to insulate me from 

this coldness in which i dwell

swimming within your vitreous protections
this fishbowl is far too small a place for the likes of me
hanging about your neck i'll soon be plucking

my pound of flesh while eyeing your soul solicitously

 

so i listen... arms folded, cramped and restless

unobtrusively stretching and shifting my gaze back to 

the distorted vision reflected in glass
inwardly yearning for open sky and the unscathed purity

of isolation
 

we both know how it all will end despite this talk

...in the blushing pink of a brand new dawn

the sea will call and the albatross will listen

 

Reviews

A beautiful write. I felt the albatross feeling caged, or within no freedom. You have a marvelous way to express this. A perfect ending.

[Neva Flores Smith - Cha..]

so odd reading this, it is almost like an answer to my "Beneath A Naked Flame........this is wonderful!