Watching a Woman from Across the Room

From 'The Properties of Dust'

By A. F. LittPublished 7 years ago • 1 min read

Church and Turbines. Nye, Washington. June 20, 2017 - www.aflitt.com

Sitting at the window table,

watching the headlights turn to taillights

in passing

While an open door offers nothing but

the cold, silent wind.

Reading Henry James,

staring at the lipstick

print of a cold kiss

on the glass.

The lessons learned, offered

on a silver platter:

bleeding, stark, eyes open

eternally, aware, offered for those

whose tongues are bound

by the frost;

bitter, cold and binding

and lonely.

Lessons found in the

bathing glow shared by

a loving couple (not

us), intimate

in a dark booth.

Warm and earthly curves.

A live and vibrant globe

and desires to explore

new lands

burn against a stifling gale,

thirsting to flare

in the open fields

of lands rumored to exist

across the turbulent seas.

Messages waiting to be uncorked,

freed from the drifting vessel;

messages from across the

empty Atlantic.

The Properties of Dust

Abandoned Schoolhouse - Goodnoe, Washington. - June 20, 2017 - www.aflitt.com

The Properties of Dust was a small book I put together in 2005 for a desktop publishing class at Portland State University. Many of these pieces were written specifically for the book project, and the rest date back to as early as 1990. The pieces were accompanied by a photo or two in the original book, but, in most cases, I am using different, more recent, photos with this series of posts.

The Properties of Dust

Watching a Woman From Across the Room

Moonrise