you can’t take your eyes off of me.
can you?
not now
not here
yes
there have been plenty of days
{there will always be plenty of days}
where I am the forgettable
wallflower
turning myself almost
inside out
to keep you from seeing
please don’t look
but when I move into this space
this one
right here
right here
with hips swaying
and head held high
mouth in sassy
smirk till lips part
almost ready to
speak
you lean forward
yes. you do.
you lean forward,
transfixed by the moment
before the moment
the potential tucked
inside my breath
just waiting for
my exhale to
lay claim to
something extraordinary
and
in that moment
i own you
yes I do.
it is not pretty face
or strong body or
divine catwalk style
{though those may be lovely to some}
it is not sway of hips
or curve of lips
or anything superficial
that captivate right now
because baby,
floating on the surface is
far too easy to
to rely on
and this isn’t about easy
nothing so peripheral could hold
such power.
not really.
it seems silly
to think there were days
when I believed
{and still, I sometimes believe}
that I could measure
the value of
my existence
in a reflective
piece of glass
look at me
look at me
my eyes would plead
am I good enough?
see me please
prove to me that I
exist
am not invisible
show me I do not blend
chameleon into
this beige life
and in my desperation
I became smaller
and you looked away
of course you looked away
but that was then
before the
knowing
knowing that
it is not profession
or skill
not intellect
or accolades
not even talent or passion or drive
no, it is nothing
that comes from
my looking
or my doing
I can’t write it with slick words
or capture it in bright pixels
I can’t paint a pretty face
or saunter in stilettos and
expect to hold
your attention
no, this is not about easy
but it sure isn’t hard.
the secret to this
particular
spellbinding
is my
being.
it is my being that
holds sway
keeps captive
your attention
and desire
you want
the very act of being
fully
to be content with
no elemental
half-life
but with expectation
of every breath flooding
every last atom
in this universe
into pulsing awareness
I am an
enchantress
when fully engaged
in being
vibrational frequency
shimmers liquid
across depth and breadth
and I am on fire
from the inside out
and then you are lit
from the outside, in.
and when I am no longer
content
with the effort of
not contracting
but instead choose to
expand
I expand
and I fill this space
refuse to be contained
by labels
or expectations
or boxes designed to keep me small
hell no.
not now.
now is my time
this is my space
and you can’t take your eyes of off me.
I’m not growing up here
I’m growing out
out
in all directions
possessing this space
every last inch,
every last fiber
every last sound
and all of you.
yes, this is poem is about
being
this life is about
being
and right now
i am all about being
but
this is not just about me
did you think that it was?
no, I own this particular swagger
only because I know that
this spark
is in every last one of us
and we can all strut
and smirk
and own the room
just by being
I know the fire that burns
in your gut
and I know your fears
of being seen
and of being invisible
and I know the tears that crack you
wide open
and the chasms that threaten
to swallow you whole
and I know your heart sometimes pounds so
hard that you’d swear
it could be heard around the world
if only people would wake up
and listen
and I know you are so ready
to expand
ready to
embrace
your particular
way of
being
So no, this could never be just about
me
because
quite frankly
you
are so damn amazing that
I can’t take my eyes
off of
you.
