paper tiger

I’m not trying to
Alienate you
His voice
Singes with
Animosity

Absent its usual playfulness

The rise of his eyebrows
Challenges
Instead of inquires

His liquid brown eyes still lull
Even now
Swaying me back and forth
Like the
Gentle
Summer swell

But the set of his perfect mouth is
Hard as marble
Miles away from the silken softness
That so recently lingered on my breast

The set of his shoulders
Once so enticing and encompassing
Is now aggressive and wary
He’s coiled to react in an instant

My shoulders
Slouch with the
Burden of impotence and
Frustration

I can’t find the
Words
To assuage his feelings of
Assault
Or to
Shield myself from his defensive
Strikes

I can’t find
Any words
To accomplish
Anything

He’s erected a
Rampart of ice
Between us

He stands, himself
Frozen, behind it
Defiant to the last

And I
Recoil
Struck
To think I could
Ever
Elicit this response from
Anyone

Drawing us further
Apart

I want
Nothing more
Than to merely
Embrace
Him

Press
Against him and
Melt him
And
Everything
Between us
With just the
Warmth of my
Body

TigerMural