By Riggs
Date: 13 June 2000
Ash
He sits in semi-darkness
A single corner lit by a solitary lamp.
Casting an orange glow on pages, turned slowly by a feminine hand.
He draws on his cigarette,
watching the flame burn impossibly hot in the black surroundings.
Smoke escapes between partially open teeth,
curling upwards through the light.
Human shapes,
in a slow sensuous dance.
But he can't make out the faces.
The scrape of paper as another page turns.
Another drag, a fierce burn fading to a soft glow,
the almost imperceptible thud as a book closes.
And a flick of a thumb,
deposits ash on the floor.
Back to the Heart-on-Sleeve Corner