“I Will Love Her in Silence”

By Laci Irvin

The sun makes the color turn to honey in her eyes.  

Above is the tune of a bird’s cry.  

She reaches up to the tree and picks a citrus fruit as if claiming a prize.   

The warm air makes the sweet scent rise, just like butterflies when they first learn to fly.   

 

When she speaks, it is all I can hear.   

Her voice sings like a spring breeze   

That ruffles the hair of a deer  

And moves the leaves when it is carried through the trees. 

 

On her delicate fingers, she has cream for skin.   

I watch as she peels the fruit, it comes undone like a flower petal.  

When she brings it to her lips, the juice runs down her chin.   

All I can do is look away when I feel the pink in my cheeks settle.   

 

My yearning is digging my own grave.  

I sit here and wonder if she will see a woman like me the same way.  

But when he gave her some violets, it made my heart cave.   

So, I will love her in silence till my very last day.