So you stand,
Stillness against the darkened sky,
Drawing in the street’s passing eyes.
Does it cross your mind
Perhaps one day to find yourself
Stuck in some exposure?
Your stillness aiding your existence
As your edges fray
And colors dull?
But remaining ever cherished
Even after having been packed away.
A memento whose worn corners,
Flapped, dog-eared, and creased,
Still command memory.
Wiping clean dusty details and obscurities
Long ago lost, but found in you.
The fans are roaring,
A seeping breath of cold and hot.
Lights flickering above us,
Dully clicking at the edge of our fantasies.
As I stand here, hands in my pockets,
Looking at you, immersing myself
In the chilled air of the evening,
As you try to elongate the moment.
The seconds of the universe,
That ticking of the world,
Determine that still you shall not remain.
You shudder, night’s cool embrace
Dancing across you, and look up to me.
Our eyes meeting for a moment,
Yours questioning mine, mine lost,
Seeking to convey, some way, how your heat
Has burned away evening’s chill.
That moment passes too.
You turn, I follow,
Both of us aware
Of the sidewalk beneath our feet.
By Christian Cassidy-Amstutz