Summer Love, Sent Away

I watched you sip your morning tea, he whispered, mouth close to my ear,

And you were lovely in your pajamas

Your hair tumbled about your face in lazy waves

And your eyes held the foggy blue of a Maine summer morning

I wanted to reach out and take your hand

Press your fingertips to my cheeks and brow

And feel our shared island-soaked childhood seep into my skin

Warm and sun baked

Your body would lie flat against the granite rocks,

Stretched and taut like a drum,

While your fingers would dance a wordless tune

And spin my thoughts into soft places -

Warm and forbidden

But you were never available to me

Always leaning just slightly away

Ear phones tucked in, hands in your pockets

Eyes quickly smiling, then drifting away

I saw you years later with your children at The Penny Jar

Lined up at the counter

The wind still in your hair

Your bikes leaned against the weathered clapboard

Backpack contents spilled about the floor

I wanted to whisper, I love you,

Enfold you in my arms

But then your husband smiled, and touched the small of your back

You turned to him in loving greeting

Children murmuring and bubbling about you, holding you in an eddy

I caught my breath and felt speared, suspended

And then all I could do was walk quickly away