His eyes. They were all she could see. They were all that she needed ever since she fell in love with him four years ago. Her face flushed deep red as he caught her admiring gaze. Their eyes locked – as they had so many times before today. Like always, she smiled and didn’t look away.

He smiled back at that pretty girl in the white dress, the girl with the sad eyes who had fallen in love with him four years ago. As they held each other’s gaze, their eyes spoke for them, just as always – how much she loved him, how she always would, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, how he would never lose that spark in his eyes when he looked at her, how he would always make her heart skip a beat.

Suddenly, the guests stood up, the priest smiled benevolently and the band began to play the wedding march. Their gaze broke as he turned away from her to look towards the church door.

His beautiful bride was walking down the aisle to claim him.

through my Achilles’ heel,

                                (ouch!)

I look down in surprised pain

I gasp – involuntarily kneel.

                                (Ouch!)

That chubby little bastard

knew my heart was stone,

So cupid shot the bloody arrow

through living flesh and bone.

A craving for a strawberry sorbet

-          icy pink, sour-sweet and served in a tall slim glass

at a sweaty, sticky summer soiree,

my throat screaming to be appeased

-          right now!

my tongue already tasting the berry blue,

-          no pink!

my eyes protest as I imagine it pressed to my lips.

I’m waiting!

.

.

Seeing you in my dreams is hardly as good as seeing, tasting and touching

you :

my strawberry seal

my yellow sequined dream

my muse, inspiration, Achilles’ heel.

-   a trust in You, a love for Your plans    -

I ran away from the world.

He chased me with a vengeance

but still I ran, You leading me

-    leading me to the edge of a cliff  -

as I looked down

I heard Your test in the sound of the waves

crashing against the cruel cold rocks.

And so I jumped.

that You can do what You say You can.

You took away that persistent Loneliness

with a single simple thought:

How can you be lonely my darling,

when the One you’re alone with

is madly in love with you?

He hung on the tree

Sin personified

now dying for me.

my heart is all He asks

not even in return

dare I say No

to this dark-eyed  One?

you smell bitter, sweet

like the old dried blood on my skirts

like the woman upstairs who stopped bathing

after her lover left her for the maid

like me, back in the days when I pretended

not to care when you treated me

with indifference.

you smell like regret and repentance

and even though I still want you

want your hot breath against my neck

your cold heart beating violently against my chest

I refuse to let love’s ink smudge my verses.

For erasing them will erase the need for

you:

inspiration, muse, Achilles’ heel.

bright yellow work-out shoes

not having seen him in a month

she dreamt every day

of his clean pink toes

his hungry amber eyes

his

melting-heart

knotted-stomach

bee-stung-tongue

inducing grin.

Finally

she almost saw him again!

but from her vantage point

in the back-seat of her pastor’s car

all she could see:

his bright yellow work-out shoes.

(Yet I KNOW it’s not in vain)

Day turns to night and night to day

before I realize

it is because I’m anchored to this world.

Stranded here,

I couldn’t see him waving,

smiling to me from the shore.

but he used me, spat on my face,

and left me to die.

As I bled, I hoped it would soften his callous heart,

he watched, he laughed,

he lapped it up instead.

HE wanted to be loved by me

but I used Him, ignored Him,

and let Him die.

As He bled love, he knew it would soften my callous heart,

I watched, I cried,

ran back to the world instead.