Breathless

He woke up this morning and looked at her

Traced an invisible line along her jaw, set so perfectly

Her features, relaxed and so natural, so her.

She has no idea he’s watching.

Her expressionless face speaking more to him than ever before

In the resting of her eyes and lips and the calm of her sweet cheeks

He can read a part of her she never shows the world

For it is only times like these when she’s unaware of his thoughts

That he can take a moment to appreciate her instead of the other way around.

The other way around is what she loves to do all the time.

But today she is asleep, and staring at your soul mate can’t be a crime

There was a time in her life when her breath was taken away

Mind you there is no romance in this phrase

Snatched away from her was her source of life

Taken ruthlessly, right before her eyes.

She saw herself slipping, felt her soul sink

Knows what it’s like to be pushed to the brink

She clawed and struggled and held on for help

But the pleas voiced only in her head,

No sound left her lips, no plea, no yelp

Trapped inside herself, she cried

Worried more of her parents grief if she died

She reached out, needing warmth to hold

Fortunately, a hand, there was one,

One for her, who stayed strong and bold

Betrayal like this she’d never known

To be abandoned by your very own

Life. Life that usually ran through her veins

Was suddenly the cause of a destructive pain

Her chest clenched, an ache no romance novel could decorate

This was real, destroying, a test of fate

Like knives that all chose to stab a sweet spot

Her chest ached as it sank and as her breath caught

For all of two seconds her eyes feel upon

That sweet string of beads, the ones she used to pray on

In all that pain and inability to speak

She pictured only her parents, and how they’d hate to see her weak

She vowed to the lady whose face headed the string of beads

She would fight this, whatever it was, even if it was her last deed

For even if it was really time for the heavens to take her above

She wasn’t going to leave without, her parents knowing her love.

He leaned in and kissed her sleeping face

Thankful for the strength and courage she had kept in place

He wishes he’d been there on that nightmare of a day

To hold her hand and say “baby, stay”

He is grateful nevertheless for the heart within her

That continuously shows the world her strength

And then of course there’s that love she gives so freely

The one, to share, she’d go to all lengths.

He can’t help but admire, in her, that fire

The one that ignites a love so true

A spark that touches, a good kind of burn for every life she’s known

A mark that she leaves, of passion un- fathomable and deeply sown

A tear falls from his eye when he thinks he could have lost her

Lost the wonder of her, the queen of his heart

Lost his significant other, his ‘till death do us part’

He didn't realize, but the warmth of his tear

Brought her to the morn, and she shifted near

She said “What is it? what’s got you up so early dear?”

He said “You. You take my breath away all the time I fear”

He leaned in and kissed her lips so sweet

She gave back to him, like always, a breathless kiss to keep.

His heart swelled, a feeling no romance novel could decorate

This was real, awakening, a blessing from fate.