At Once Poem by Piper Brown

Opening the door, my heart in my throat
I see you sitting perfectly, waiting
Forcing my legs to walk by you
Mumbling a short, “stay there.”
At once, I feel the electricity, the charge
The life flowing through me once again
Like a long dried river flowing water again
Stepping up to the ticket office
We pay for the tickets and go
At once, I feel your breath on my neck
Your arm around me, hearts set on fire
As we settle into our seats the music
Starts to play a familiar tune
Another lover’s song, though dead
Cold and gone that love may be
Still the guilt remains, sadistic, cruel
Tears spring up, I fought ferociously
As to not let you see my weakness
My biggest fear that you would see
How weak I really was
Looking deep in your eyes, peace
My head on your chest, heartbeat rhythm
Sitting as close as the seats allowed
Eyes wandering hastened away with shame
As you kissed me in the dark of the theatre
Awkward moments when our 3D glasses hit
When most people cringe, we laugh
Then the dreaded name was mentioned
And the pain hit like a wall, driving the breath from me
This time, even though I fought with all I had
My strength waned, the tears began to come
A poison to my soul, to my very being
I buried my face in your shoulder, trying to control the torrent
Worry creases your face, taking my hand
Knowing fully well this is never me
Knowing this is what I feared most
Motioning for us to leave we stand up and walk away
My heart tearing with the sound of our footfalls
Memories ripping, destroying, new realities
That girl trying to steal my lover’s heart away
Those boys who I foolishly gave my heart to
Those people trying to force us apart yet again
Was this another time for my heart to break again?
Was I going to lose what had become precious?
Standing the hallway of the dark theatre, alone
You wrap me strong in your arms and stroke my hair
Promising in my ear that we would never fall away
Exchanging “I love you” never loses its spark
Tilting my head to yours and making me forget
Forget that my life is hard and cold
That my parents lack the love
That my sister turned her back, vicious
That my brother broke my trust, cruelly
That the times before, when red crossed my wrist and mind
Memories like spider webs, dusted away
Not forgotten, just swept away
Another first, the second one that night
Delight, happiness
Walking out of the movie, our time together limited
Not caring if people saw us, another first happened
Sitting on your lap, I felt safe
Why can’t this night go on?
Finally deciding I have to go, I hold on tight
Then let go, not looking back for if I did
I know I would surely run back into your arms
At once, the peace stays locked in my heart
The memory of your touch engraved
At once, my mind starts to trace the outline of the words
And in my head the night begins again, with
Opening the door, my heart in my throat
Hey, I would go on, but you know the rest