the gift - Fran Carbonaro

[Larry Robinson]

the gift    									

you were sitting there
not rocking, in that chair
by the window
i wanted to say goodbye
it was time to go
my womanhood just 
beginning to lift off
smoke curling from
the cigarette dangling
between your bent fingers
i wanted to say goodbye
to that heavy thing
you carried on your chest
the air stifled, close
it was time to go
i slowly found your side
leaning in to kiss
your cheek, leaning
into the barbed wire
and left the gift
of my lips between
your cheekbone
and your clenched jaw
“i will see you in a 
few weeks” i said
and waited for you
to lift your face
your eyes met mine
and the words
“kiss of death”
fell from your mouth
they sounded soft
almost tender
we were frozen
in time, the light
slanting in long strips
thru venetian blinds
it was just the two of us
a strip of dark, a line
of light, a thin wire
between us
the tightrope on
which i walked
to the door
it was time to go
		
	- Fran Carbonaro