My Darling Turns to Poetry at Night

Anthony Lawrence

My darling turns to poetry at night.

What began as flirtation, an aside

Between abstract expression and first light

Now finds form as a silent, startled flight

Of commas on her face — a breath, a word ...

My darling turns to poetry at night.

When rain inspires the night birds to create

Rhyme and formal verse, stanzas can be made

Between abstract expression and first light.

Her heartbeat is a metaphor, a late

Bloom of red flowers that refuse to fade.

My darling turns to poetry at night.

I watch her turn. I do not sleep. I wait

For symbols, for a sign that fear has died

Between abstract expression and first light.

Her dreams have night vision, and in her sight

Our bodies leave ghostprints on the bed.

My darling turns to poetry at night

Between abstract expression and first light.