I want so much
to look into those bold, beautiful eyes,
my eyes to follow the patterns and hues inside yours.
Your lids, heavy, conceal some of their shape.
My eyes trace over the lower half of what I can see:
pebbled white capstones tipped in sea blue,
outlined, each, in charcoal gray;
hugged honeycombed grids of hazel green;
and dilated pupils, honey brown, veiled by lashes
like vertical scribblings of a three year old who stays
inside the lines yet never fully shades in a circular object.
Though each layer goes untouched by human closeness,
I memorize each ring as you were created to be,
I want it just as it is,
just as you are,
layers of you to trace
as I fall into trance,
unafraid of your soul’s shields
with all its heraldic colors,
sure I will conquer heart’s suit of ardent armor:
I will watch it fall to the ground,
from tremor to trepidation,
like hurriedly stripped dressing that lies on the floor.
I will take nothing less.
Artist Malcolm T. Liepke, “Couple in Love”, 2001