Pandas and Long Endless Trails

Darker than the Velvet Sky

I saw her.

But I tried not to.

I saw her smile convulsed

against her face; hiding away her

high cheekbones, ever chiselled

and elegant.

I winced and dug my nails into my palm

as I saw her eyes,

stretched to the sides of her face,

speckled in gold and silvers,

I saw the roses missing her bronzed cheeks.

I saw the sun shining

behind her ears,

glistening through her translucent, dark hair.

I saw her darker that the moon

and the starless sky.

I saw her smile grow sickly sweet.

I saw her lean body

perturbed with jutting bones,

heard the off-notes of music

against her clashing ribs.

I saw this amazing girl.

I saw what my life seemed like

before her.

I saw what I could do to change it.

But I tried no to.

-Cynthia

September 2010

For Nailantei. This is a poem about a pretty North African girl I once saw who was dying from starvation.