.: Above the Crowd :.
Dominating walls tower
beyond
immaculate windows that
display a
serene background to a
moonlit world.
From aloft, chandeliers
throw out
light that marks the
beginning and
seemingly endless
perimeter of the room.
The speeches are
spoken, the due
words all have been
said. Promises
have been fulfilled,
favors returned.
They all turn about to
enjoy each other's
company; to mingle and
familiarize
themselves with the
other participants.
From around the world
they've come and
from off of it. Today
they collaborate here to
celebrate well fought
and deserved harmony.
Glasses clink together,
laughs are exchanged.
Above her drink, eyes
dart across the wide
expanse in search of
the once-departed, now-returned.
Oh, sweet victory, how
bitter the taste of
recoil! Lost is the
revered emotions of
one's youth at such a
callous charge!
Hands are shaken,
congratulations are in
order. In each face he
hunts for a certain
glimmer of verve that
had once kept him alive.
What has been
misplaced, given up, taken away?
Is this what we so
desired? Haste, for as it
escapes, our
outstretched hands might reach.
Time drags through,
still the festivity marches
on. Leaving nothing for
naught, she plunges
ahead and nearly meets
him, a handbreadth away.
He moves further,
unnoticing. She retreats,
opening an span of
innumerable questions
that widens with the
oncoming persons they meet.
What is it that you
wish for? What is it that you
so fervently seek? Will
your love-starved soul
reach those pearly
gates in ecstasy?
Catching her eyes has
never been harder.
Habitually, her named
called was enough
to catch her ever
wavering attention.
She couldn't reach
him, regardless of the
distance. She took "so
close, so far" to heart
as she outlined their
relationship from afar.
In the passage of a
moment, above the crowd,
their eyes betray them.
What has been left to lie
unspoken is brought
forth in the opening of an eyelid.
Ocher has met emerald.
A bona fide smile,
A returned affection,
And the night passes
on.
A spark, a bright, a
shine; hither to, my friend,
and see the light
shining through.