It stays after he leaves, not
like a memory–
more like weather.
A soft gravity in the hallway,
clinging to the back
of my wrist,
to the collar of the night.
It is not perfume. It is warmth
and iron,
soap rinsed too quickly,
the hush
of skin after touch.
I breathe it in by accident,
and the room
tilts– the chair remembers him,
the door still leans his way.
I crave him– the curve of his mouth
when he isn’t trying,
dark lashes lowering
like a habit,
hair falling forward,
careless, as if, he is God’s favourite.
There is something unfair
about it,
how absence can be so full,
how the air
keeps him– when I cannot.
By morning, it loosens its grip,
sliding into sheets,
quiet corners,
still, my breath pauses,
as though waiting–
as if he might return through the air alone.
Photo credits: Pinterest
Posted for Open Link Night #399 (+LIVE) @dVerse Poets Pub
34 Responses
I love the way how much you capture in the scent… it can truly be like that when you love someone (or long for them) and it will linger.
Thank you so much, Bjorn 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
The longing is just so profound
Bravo, Sanaa
🎇much love
Thank you so much, Gillena 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
Much love back to you 🌹
Such a poignant love poem, Sanaa. It makes the reader wonder if he is gone for good, or if he will return.
“how absence can be so full,
how the air
keeps him– when I cannot.”
Thank you so much, Merril 😀 so glad the poem spoke to you 💄❤️
a tour de force of a poem, Sanaa, with so many impressions that are left to fill the absence And I love the interpretations
“It is not perfume. It is warmth
and iron,
soap rinsed too quickly,
the hush
of skin after touch.
Thank you so much, Laura 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
A poem of passion indeed….captured in the imagery and the scents. So sensual. Queen of romance….I truly think you should publish a chapbook of your romantic poetry!!!
Aww gosh! Thank you so much, Lillian 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
Oh you had me at tge first stanza, Sanaa. A beautiful and profound piece as absence becomes “full” and concrete. Love it!
Thank you so much, Mish 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
Love the physicality of memory here, S. Thanks
Thank you so much, Ron 😀 so good to see you 💄❤️
These lines:
“There is something unfair
about it,
how absence can be so full,
how the air
keeps him– when I cannot.”
Such longing!
Thank you so much, Ken 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
Your second stanza knocks me over. And he is. And yours. You bring an ache back that I don’t like to dwell upon. Beautiful, visceral writing, Dear Sanaa.
Thank you so much, Lisa 🙂 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
Your poem is so sensual and sultry, Sanaa, it made me blush! Such a wonderful capture of a person’s scent, ‘not like a memory– more like weather’ and clinging ‘to the collar of the night’. I love the lines:
‘…the chair remembers him,
the door still leans his way’.
Aww gosh! Thank you so much, Kim 😍 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
Exquisite, Sanaa! A lovely romantic dream!
Thank you so much, Dwight 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
Beautiful, sensual, a poem of longing Love it
Thank you so much, Marja 😀 so good to see you 💄❤️
Oh you just wait, Psyche, once he has you in his castle on Cloud Nine, he’ll forget to shower and fart while you’re coming. You’ll love that presence to death and pray to its ghost. That’s Poetry …
Thank you so much, Brendan 🙂 so glad the poem spoke to you 💄❤️
Great write 👏
Thank you so much, Shaun 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
Although wrapped in a dreamy atmosphere, there is nothing needless in this gorgeous poem, Sanaa, every line resonates with meaning…
Thank you so much, Andrew 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
Dear Sanaa, as usual I have goose bumps when I read your beautiful poetry. Ahhh! ❤️❤️🥰
This made me smile. I remember that feeling when you look at someone and they are just so beautiful and you wonder how that can be.
dark lashes lowering
like a habit,
hair falling forward,
careless, as if, he is God’s favourite.
Thank you so much, Christine 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
I love the metaphors and the imagery in this Sanaa, it is packed with feeling.
Thank you so much, Paul 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️