Dock, Revised (Chapter 6)

He called me, fire dancing just behind his words.

A tangled-up love pulling his strings

And a brimming desperation to him

That echoed through me.

How could I say no?

We met at the muddy side of a dock,

The waters beneath it shimmering quietly.

Night filled it with muted colors,

But was unable to quell the noise of creaking boards under our feet.

Wild gestures painted smoke,

Slowly spiraling from the tip of a grape flavored cigar.

My eyes transfixed at the gap of rough, thick fingers.

Wide and strong and kind.

And then my world tilted,

Focused solely on his earthy smile

On his open, earnest face

On his hands, shoulders, jaw-line.

And then it straightened again-

Pulled forward, stuttering, and crashing to a halt

In his eyes filled up with pain

For someone else.