Remorse in a Hardened Heart

His emotions for me are dense, thick,

like lying under the canopy of a tropical
rainforest. Mine do not reciprocate.
He looks at me with admiration.
Should I stop myself from running?
My doubts are rooted in the pit of
my stomach. I cannot meet his gaze.

The brisk breeze ruffles my curls.

Steam particles flirt with my pink
cheeks as it bellows from the boiler.
Tears in his eyes glisten as he searches
my fact for remorse. His callused hand
sweeps a lock of my tousled hair
from my forehead. The touch fails
to tempt my senses. His breath
on my neck does not summon
passion.

My emotions have passed like

a rainstorm over the plains on a
summer afternoon. The clouds over
my head have given way to golden
beams. A dark storm will hang over
his head all the way to Minneapolis.
My heard is void of damaging intentions,
but nights of trifle transformed into
mornings of regret.

He peels back layers of lies like layers

of an onion to reveal an emotionless
connection with his forgiving soul. Numerous
rising suns cannot shed light on the
darkness in my heart. I could spew
endless apologies. Instead I gracefully kiss
his tender lips.

His slow turn erases my guilt

like a wave erases footprints in
the sand. I want nothing more
than to set his heart free, like
releasing a dove on a
wedding day.
Works Cited

"Steam Locomotive." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 02 Mar. 2011.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_locomotive>.

Brown, Esther Marie, college years scrapbook, 1918-1924. Acc# 83:43:02. South
Dakota State Agricultural Heritage Museum, SDSU, Brookings, SD.