The candles have all been snuffed out inside the house
The household is asleep.
I am on the veranda
Seated.

The boy next door
Only a whiff of him
His bedroom window open
No sound

Did I say seated
Wrong.
Reclining
on the swing
Only slightly
The detail is important
Back almost upright
Feet, hovering over the floor
A tiny movement and the tip of my toes would touch.
Skirt covering knees but no more.

My gaze is wild.

Not the slightest awareness of me
My wholeness is pervaded by him
His head on the pillow
Breathing.

Maryam Seyf practiced as a film maker until she discovered her passion for poetry. She has been writing and taking courses for the last seven years. She has just started submitting her poems and has been long listed for her poem ‘Applied Physics’ by Magma.