Listening to Sally Barker sing
the BeeGee’s To Love Somebody
confirms I have never loved anybody.
The clarity in her voice an indictment
of my childish claims otherwise—
my puppy love a disguise for selfishness,
her naked notes revealing
the skin you must put into it.
She’s clearly mastered
the breath, the release of her somebody
at that least expected moment
his body lowered
below the range of hearing.
Strange how my ears can see the escaping
light from her eyes, realize darkness
is not blind to history, to the feel
of him on the bed beside, or
even still inside. Near the end,
her ascending hum sends shivers
down my spine—a bridge I cross
one vertebrae at a time until next to her,
her last word almost lost
from her lips, a soft offering
more than a wish, a parting gift
from one who has known love
to another
slowly learning.
Copyright © 2021 by AJ Saur, from Odds n’ Ends (Murmuration Press)
Eighth Day Aches 