many a glance have come my way,
neither rejected nor entertained.
just fleeting curiosities, not fancies,
in a room full of strangers.

lest disturb half-hearted laughters,
inobtrusive i wanted to be one sunday afternoon.
familiar pervasive aloneness I’d be
this last clump of sand in my hour glass.

darting across the room
a look i noticed.
wistful it seemed.
nah! another meaningless one i feared.
desirability – never a familiar word.
rejection – a friend.

overcoming diffidence,
i attempted to visually throw back
what my sight earlier perceived.
me? flirting glances in a room full of strangers?

a smile formed with was once just a glance,
as i shortened the distance
with measured steps.
breathing I held.
skipped a beat, my heart.

your sweet-smelling nearness,
the soft, gentle hand,
a gambit too silly to recount.
pregnant with promise, that 27th of june.

unknown you were that sunday,
in a room full of strangers i chanced to be.
warm souls now in a web of familiarity.
…a new awareness was being realized.
…a once-subdued tenderness was being shared.

july and august came around,
unfailing in claiming their turn.
fun at campings, sunsets, and picnics seemed endless.
spirits were high as the kite’s tail created figures in the blue sky.
the sand in the hourglass in a never-ending flow.

but the wind got colder
as the summer folded its warmth.
leaves weakened their grips,
helpless victims to the coming frozen crystals.

the wand got shorter
as the magic dissipated.
vulnerability a heart was exposed.
“spare it of the pain!”
in vain.

summer and its frills we both only deserve?
leaf peeping, sledding, painting easter eggs
are for other hearts in the path?

moments can carry us onto an eternal flight of bliss or sadness.

one heart is caught in a summer that once was.