Split Second Glance

I smile at you when you aren’t looking. The set of your mouth, as it furrows irresistibly Commandeering your face into the desired degree Of aloof concentration. Chin in hands, you rove about A world I catch only in glimpses, As it scintillates through the reflection in your incessant clarity. I can see the glaze slipping as you fight your way Through the glossy clouds that feather in overlapping layers On your perception –I can see the radiance begin to focus From the lucid orbs that center your face -unclenching as it emerges Reluctantly from where it had seeped its inspiration –penetrated To the profundity of your being. I strain to catch that first flicker of warmth –the spellbound rebirth Of the halcyon element I scorch myself with Beyond the beyond the beyond – But never scar. It’s rending the fetters that closed behind it, I can feel the crisp distance congeal As it prepares to receive a dawn – My face blazes with a sudden knowledge: For one frozen moment, sluggish rays already frothing Just beneath the surface, my breath petrifies as I Inhale a fear that I will desecrate this magic – That your perfection –exquisite to the point of pain – Will dissipate –marred by an irreverent worth. An emblem of stillness, I rasp over edges of milliseconds -the tingling plunge that precedes all fall or flight- Your eyelids lift, echoes of recognition bouncing As I leadenly raise answering gaze to hem in selfish supplication. Locked, your icy awe exults without breaking – You answer my smile, as I gasp through gritted teeth. We laugh about anything and nothing, I catch hold of my shreds again. -inconsequential exhilaration-