To find a place to stay,

come in to shelter from a storm,

vulnerable to the shadows

made larger through fear’s eyes.

There he catches his own self,

remaining from the calm before.

A moment captured and held still.

Like a flame photographed

and held inside.

If time stood still,

the chance would be

to see that heart again.

Shown through the coolest stare

to blaze straight inside.

Just one glance is enough,

a sharpness to sweep within

as the clouds depart once more.

Cumulonimbus to cirrus

in a single, effortless blow.

From the windows of one soul to another’s,

she has made a heart smile -

a smile to make or break a spirit,

held inside,

like a swallow caged for winter.

But summer’s warmth is promised

in a time that's left behind.

Those eyes with a colour so easy to remember,

those eyes, with a glance, catch a heart’s breath

and steal a beat where a million could have been.

Andrew Williams

7^th July 2010