Fluttering
against the dark
A
dim amber light is splashingUp the wall, across the bookcase
Against our ceiling.
In pulses,
That silent heartbeat is
Letting my sleeping love know that
She has a new message.
New message.
New message.
New message.
New...
It
stops.
But in its placeShadows return
Silently seeping
Through my eyes,
Into my ears
To pool thickly
At the back of my tongue
Where they drip steadily down my esophagus
Slowly filling every cavity in my chest;
Suffocating.
At
last I hear
The
distant chime of the clock
From
the hall and down the stairs. I count them, each chime...
Three, four, five.
My chest relaxes,
I breathe in.
Eight,
nine,
My
tongue loosens...
Twelve.
After
a polite pause, I
Clear my throat by quietly croaking
Into the murky dark,
I
love you.
She
stirs softly just as
The
amber light blinks again to say That there is a new message.
New message.
New
message.
New
message.
New.
