While I Was Away I
©1998 by Word Mage

while I was away
i wandered through a library
an old home
built in th thirties for a loving couple
walking through the thick oak doors
breathing deeply dust and love
i started thinking of you
and on the upper landing,
where musicians used to play
and an overstuffed armchair now resides,
i thought of us,
cuddled together
reading the newspaper on sunday
watching xena on mondays
listening to music
eating dinner
laughing with our friends
from our own overstuffed armchair
and i wondered
if you sat there now
thinking of me
wondering what i was doing
and when i'd found the perfect nook
and was nestled comfortably away
i thought of the night before i left
the two of us, snuggled in our armchair
whispering our love
and how we miss each other already
and i thought about the way you touched me
with a reverence i hadn't seen since the first time
with a wonder that had changed with familiarity
but was being rediscovered
and i kissed you sweetly, tentatively
like on our first date when,
for a moment,
your butchyness fell away
and you were a shy woman
on a date
wanting to be kissed goodnight...
wanting to be kissed goodbye...
six months seems like such a long time
and phone calls
and email
and chatroom meetings
both ease and increase the pain
the longing
the distance...
sitting in my little corner,
i know i'll be back
everyday for six months
until i can go back
and be in your arms
wrapped together
in our own overstuffed armchair