Diversion
by Michael Keshigian


He lays awake
during the small hours of quiet
after midnight and focuses upon
the husky rhythmic patterns of breath
which sustain her
in stark contrast
to the stillness of her soul
reflected on her face.

He wonders
after sharing years of secure abandon
about the first day he enters
this ritual of repose alone
should she render
to permanent slumber before him
and realizes his ordinarily vivid imagination
dares not trespass

upon unfathomable ground.
Yet, he persists conjecture
still unable to complete the thought
and as unnerving sensations invade his psyche,
he rises to write these lines
in hopeful diversion
to an inevitable confrontation
from his perspective or hers.







Copyright © 2024 by Red River Review. First Rights Reserved. All other rights revert to the authors.
No work may be reproduced or republished without the express written consent of the author.