Alpha and Omega (Les Bises)
Campbell, Mary Baine
Alpha and Omega (Les Bises) The other stood squarely on the ground, I forget what his arms were doing Or mine, our clothes were light- It was all so light, and in the lobby. People watched,...
...People watched, lightly: I didn't see Them, or anything...
...Outside convention, where the artery Full of bright blood, darkened by skin, Throbbed as it might have throbbed If in the dark a star had fallen, suddenly...
...I remember how light His lips were on my left cheek, so light It must have taken power: only gravity Could bend such light...
...And even so Both lips printed me completely, as light Would: evenly, thoroughly, weightlessly...
...Mary Baine CampbellCampbell...
...And breathlessly, so no wind even of breath Could topple us, and no pause interrupt This first and last...
...And must be light Or I'll fall down...
...Who though Would have imagined it falling there...
...I think I closed My eyes, thinking this is the first time And the last time...
...I took my turn, the other cheek Was mine but I missed, and my mouth Outside convention stumbled, weightless still And fell like a damp feather on his neck Below the jaw, beneath the ear Which heard nothing from a kiss so light It could have been imagined...
Vol. 130 • May 2003 • No. 10
