The beautiful one
(this poem is currently in competition)

I. They Saw Her Like Candy

She was always catching eyes
keeping them inside her own really.
Even speakers and performers sometimes
would get stuck inside them from the stage
and her friends would pause there
when they were across the room.
It was the honeyed and handsome element of her.
She�d trap you there silently and slowly
but only for a minute or two
then the world would buzz on
swirl into the next thing and she was
powerless.

She was always catching eyes
with her skinny curves
her sleek boniness
and the newest tennis shoes.
People paused to notice her and focus
follow her with their swivel-necks
as she descended into the bottom of her well
as she thought about jumping
from ten-story buildings and cliffs.

II. They Didn�t Know the Danger of Her Deep

He on the other hand
sang when he caught her eye
and she shivered,
moved toward her when she walked in
and she ran,
called out to her sundown, bedtime,
morning, light of day,
and she covered her ears.
He held those eyes continually, repeatedly
following them incessantly, undiminished.

He brought an uncritical eye.
He brought a gentle hand.

The lover�s relentlessness softened her face
and collapsed her.
It took her a long time to open her eyes.

copyright 2001 by devon