"you are one of us"
the flowers whisper
No! Can't they see
I have pulled off
My petals?
To be bare
is without fear
of getting plucked
one by one
only to land on
"he loves me not"
I can't take
that plucking
again

Strip me down
To my rawest form.
To my browns and oranges.
A copper silhouette.

Peel me away
Till I’m standing there
With averted gaze.

Leave me bare.

Strip me down
Shed all my layers, till I’m
Just a component.

Make me an idea,
In its first happening.
A dream yet to be realised.

Look at me,
Honestly,
Unguarded.

In my essence,
Am I good?

Let me see your soul.
Bare all your scars to me.
All that pains you.
All that burdens you.
All that gives you joy.
I will cup your mechanical heart.
Feel its beat, and oil the gears.
No longer will it be the frost of
the moonlight.
But as polished as
sun-kissed silk.

Sometimes my mask slips.
You can catch me off guard
and shine light onto parts of my soul
that I thought only I could see.

You might expect the reaction to be groggy;
Dusty after so many years of being hidden.
But I take in that light like air - necessary,
staring straight into the possibility of a kindred spirit.

It happened once. And that tiny breathe of air,
so innocuous, sent me spinning and
started a hurricane. Part of you resonated with me.
Your truth had the exact same heat of mine.

The same forest wood feeding the flames.
Except you elaborated, and I realised that we
were entirely different wildflowers,
in the same bunch but mismatched from root to petal -

Just grown in the same decrepit soil.
It felt like you had comforted me by wrapping
a soft woolen blanket around my shoulders.
I am allergic to wool, and all it does is burn.

Darkness, again. Yet,
I remember you at times, Ky. When the world feels
so dry it seems nothing will grow,
I remember that you sprouted in the weeds, too.

It started with a few strokes,
a pointed charcoal,
pulsed...led by the
thumb and index finger, that
initiated a sway of arcs, the contours
of boyish hair, clinging to the nape
a few short strands on a not so wide
forehead,
very near...........a pair of
not so bushy eyebrows, under which
stared...peeping, smiling
almond-shaped, brown eyes.
then...followed gentle strokes
of perfect highs and lows
of a
medium-bridged
nose.
:::::
hills, valleys, and softened arcs
shaped and manifested character-
high cheekbones....a pointed,
but softened chin,
suddenly, i was
looking at
sensual,
full, pouting,
luscious lips.
:::::
index finger covered tip, to help
define jaws....then slid down lower,
a slick,
slender
neck
appeared,
propped up by
a shallow clavicle
and gently shaped  shoulders,
that fool judging eyes and minds
they seem small, and weak
and fragile, but, they can carry
tons of worries...determinedly.
:::::
fingers angled, pencil tip slowly
danced...in careful strokes,
and curved lines,
artfully creating
a valley,
'tween two heavenly mountains,
with pinkish brown crowns
conspicuously tensed at the tops...
pencil moved decidedly....so sure...but,
slow in shaping waist...then curved
on rounded hips..sliding inwards
to the front.....to a central point,
essential, fundamental, umbilical.
its surroundings raised, as if to protect
a knotted cord...filled with stories...closed,
atop a slightly fleshy belly...
from there, a short distance downward,
led to a hidden flower
the reason...a cradle...a port,
covered by a triangular shield,
squeezed in between
chubby thighs and legs.
:::::
lines went lower, narrower...
shaped a pair of fair feet,
with painted toes
ably supporting
a bare maiden
::::::::::::
wonderfully
sketched,
:::::::::
in
deep
charcoal.
:::::


Sally

Copyright July 30, 2017
Rosalia Rosario A. Bayan