Cautious
Your blind back lacks familiarity.
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
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