vulnerable

i look deep into the eyes of a vulnerable soul

as she stands before me with her blue grays
her one hand touches her quivering cheek
while her other one by her side trembles
as she stares out at the world before her

she has a slight of smile not giving a full one

for fear of having the world take it from her
and when she sees me looking  at her eyes
they begin to tear for she knows i can
hear her crying inside from pain and loss

her remembered days of yore unravel when she

sees i am looking deep inside her soul where angst
of loneliness and loss reside and her heart beats
like a captured bird’s does cupped in a hand and
little room seems left for salvaging her unrest

but then as i smile at her and extend my arms

she expires a sigh in relief and takes my hand
trusting that i am there to assuage her burden,
to fill the void as i tell her that i love her and
i hold her close to show her that i care

i tell her she won’t be alone and the emptiness

as her breath is slowly siphoned out as two souls
depart from the space of her world and like
a basin full of water and a cup of it is removed
it does not leave a hole although the basin now
holds less it remembers and adjusts and birds
still come play and bathe