The Encounter Part I – The Ball Somewhere between The vibrato of the cellos And the tremolos of the violins The couples drifted to and fro In simple steps. In the air, hung sweet discord As talks of revelation and creation Floated through the room. He stood near the side Feeling out of touch And out of place. Being a young man of little wisdom He knew nothing of what the elders spoke. Why they experience Life and love And all that falls in between He had experienced only Ethereal things. He drifted away Feeling somewhat lost Wishing he had the courage To say he had never Felt these things before While at the same time Wishing he had the opportunity To fall into one of their stores. To experience their lives Of loves and lies And tales of pure terror. What he would to To go through something like that So very much on his own. Turning his head The clouded thoughts, The drifted away To somewhere else As he carefully came back to earth. It seemed while his mind Had wandered outside his body It had visited somewhere Far in the distant heavens For when he returned An angel seemingly followed him And came to greet him. The divine beauty approached And gazed deep into his eyes. He felt somewhere deep within him His heart leap up And rush forward in his breast. It had found the missing piece To its completion. While the elders found themselves Speaking of religion Unbeknownst to them A sinner was being absolved From all his trespasses By the incarnation Of an earthbound saint Ho had come to lose Her way while on her journey To join those Who had been canonized before her. The fledgling saint began to sigh. She felt the tears of an intense love Sear the corners of her eyes. Overwhelmed She fled the room Without bringing the sinner To his salvation. He reeled back Unsure as to what Had just taken place So few minutes ago. Had he come to see The face of God Staring at him In the eyes of the saint? Had she existed, The saint, The answer To his nightly prayers For someone that burned for him Or had he found himself Lost in prayer Nothing more then A religious dream To ensure that He would return to prayer As soon as the chance arose? He let a sigh Pass from his lips It seemed that she, His saint, Could not exist And was nothing more Then a waking dream. A sudden movement caught his eyes And he spun around. Searching for his saint He found nothing more Then a girl Whose earthly beauty Surpassed all that He had ever seen. As the elders continued to ponder Their world and lives and stories He and the earthly beauty Fell into worldly talks Of life But never strayed unto love. Before long she began To shift back and forth In complete unease She grabbed his hand And led him From the room To places he had Never been. He followed her closely But failed to notice The saint stood Quietly in the corner And ceased to cry For the sins of the world But instead Began to weep Solely for him. Part II – Curves He drew in a breath And pulled her near to him. He sighed and held her As thoughts of what He imagined to be love Coursed through his head. He dreamed of a world Where only the two of them existed In a paradise so far from here, Where they would be the only ones Who could ever walk the earth. He gently pulled away from her And looked deeply in her eyes. She gazed back Knowing what he was about to say And knowing that She would never want to hear The words that were buried his soul. She drove her passion to her lips And spoke to him with contact Before he could speak to her in words. He rejoiced If but only through his body As he felt her press deeply into him. She pushed into him And they stumbled sideways Falling over and over and over Onto the ground. They parted for but a few seconds Before realizing their ultimate goal And rejoining once again. As their romping became impassioned He let his hands begin to wonder Over an alien land they have never seen before. His hands ran over curves, Her curves, The curves of a girl he would never Come to know in a way That was any deeper then that Of a simple kiss. His hands ran over a back, Her back, The back of a girl Who would never grow To support him in the way He truly needed. His hands ran over breasts, Her breasts, The breasts that his children Would never come to drink from And that they would never see again. His hands ran over legs Her legs, The legs of a girl Who would walk a thousand miles For any man But him. His hands ran through hair, Her hair, The hair of a girl Who would toss it For any man who glanced her way Except for him. She fell into him And he drew her sweet aroma Across his lips. She pushed into him And he felt her long hair Run across his face. She pressed a kiss into his cheek And he felt that breath of the angels Dance across his skin. His eyes fell shut As he pressed his head into the ground. He had seen the Paradise Spoken of only in the holiest of texts. Religion pushed into him He felt the breath of God Cascade into him The heavens opened And he knew of all things holy. In a burst of purest ecstasy, He sighed loudly And realized that he was alone Save for him and his angel. She pressed into him A mix of intoxication and ecstasy Rushed through her Everything seemed to be spinning This was all over so fast And she had never realized Quite what was happening Until this very moment. An explosion ripped through her And she fell to the side. She lay there for an instant, Studying the contours of the face Of the man who lay beside her, He had collapsed of weariness. How could she have done this To a man whom she would Never speak to If she saw him on the street? With a heavy heart, She slowly gathered her possessions. The guilt that burned within her Deepened its hold as tears Began to well against The edges of her eyes. She had showed him What she thought he had Wanted to come to know. The love that burns Only for one night, If even that, And then is extinguished Before the day comes to Claim the two As its own. Part III : The Saint Just as that night Faded into distant memory So did the girl Whom he saw the night at the ball The girl who his heart knew Before she even spoke her name. The nights faded into days Which faded into months And just as the earth circles the sun The hands of the clock Flew ‘round its face Countless times Before it struck the hour of 10 On the fateful day. He arrived at his destination Still drunk from the girl Whose ethereal beauty Had shown him one pure night So very long ago. For him The world had stopped turning And he would always be Trapped in the gaze of her warm eyes How he wished he could have spoken The words his soul had wished To verbalize when he looked Into her eyes. Thoughts swam through his head As the edges of his eyes Began to dance with the tears Of a loss so much deeper then Any words could come to explain. Suddenly from the corner of his eyes He saw a figure glide Through the sea of pain. He blinked away the hurt And thought perhaps, If just maybe, It could be the girl of the one night He could say everything that He had not been able to that night. But, alas – When he looked It was not her, It would never be her. But he found himself studying the face Of the girl who stood before him And once again he felt a feeling That he had felt only once before. Deep within him He felt his heart stir. It danced in time with An unheard music And rejoiced at the thought Of finding its missing part That it would finally be reunited And could be complete once again. He felt the ache and the emptiness Left by the memory of so long ago Ease away into nothing. His search for completion Had finally led him To the one who would Be by his side forever. He felt his heart press Against the inners of his breast As it drew him towards her. He followed slowly, Reluctantly to the gallows, Unsure as to his fate. He could possibly have her For the rest of eternity And the aching in his heart Would cease forevermore. Or she could turn away From the purest of all love And move on with all her life And see where she was destined To go in this world. As he neared her, He saw her draw her eyes Up to meet his. Inside them danced an anger Deeper then the passion That had burned At the time of their first meeting. He felt his hear cry out In utmost pain For to lose her Would mean to lose the happiness That he had sought from everyone And the one girl that fateful night So very long ago. He felt himself Fall onto his knees As he came before her. He glanced up And tried to look Deep into her eyes But she turned her head And fought away his glance. He noticed that as he reached For her hand That her chest began to rise and fall In quick, quick succession. She had began to battle The tears that had Been buried deep Within her since She had seen him Leave that night. He grasped her hand And pressed it firmly Against his chest Praying that somehow Perhaps she could feel The pain that his heart cried out. And perhaps she could Find the courage Somewhere in the bottom Of her soul To forgive the actions That he had taken Against her And the actions he had Committed in The body of another. She wretched her hand away And pulled it back to herself. She looked down With anger and pain dancing Through her eyes She knew that he could Never come to forgive himself For the acts that he had committed Against her But no matter how deep She searched within herself, Neither could she. With this burning realization She turned and strode away.
Copyright © 2003 Ashley Burdett |