Love Poem: Cautious
Juliet Ligon Avatar
Written by: Juliet Ligon

Cautious

Your blind back is becoming less familiar.
Beside me you sit, chest rising, 
as if you were real.

Your hand outstretched in expectation, 
mine carefully curled in.
Now a sudden squeeze, so rapid a grasp.

My pale heartbeat pounding on edge, 
as if your bending breath 
could tip it over.

I see your once-far-away face afresh, 
each line intertwined with 
the plastic past.

Your mask is sloughing off the dirt of hurt.
Cautiously, I see an allusion of 
a new you.

Who will I begin to become
as I timidly take in your 
refreshing reflection?

Will you stay long enough
for me to someday soak up
the luster of uncovered love?

9-13-2023