Just Above A Whisper
for T.L.C.

you know what I had
to tell you and didn’t
two things

you are the only secret I have
don’t keep secrets from you

while chatting with you
just after the service
which brought the new year in

I kept wanting to interrupt,
to share, what must be
my favorite perfume

I could smell it on me
left upon me, someone hugged me

didn’t smell it
until I was home
didn’t get to ask
the name of the fragrance
or to write it down

I wanted to share
what was sweet with you
wish it were possible
to purchase a bottle

possibily
you'd not find it agreeable
though it makes me weak-kneed
for a variety of reasons

what I deprived you of this morning

while we chatted, I was playing
Bach’s English Suit No. 1
5 Toccatas on harpsichord

trying to love these works
this instrument, for ages
I finally do
they belong to me now
almost as much as you

I want you connected
to whatever thrills me
in ways similar
to the way you thrill me

like when the wind picks up
or when the rain comes down

all the things I enjoy
in life, one concerto
one symphony of happenings

are you a girl still
or a woman, my love

what power have you
to go out or meet out
even for coffee and conversation

with poems to rip up
if they happen to be awful


© Obediah Michael Smith, 2008
5:28 a.m. 01.02.08