He sits

in the third seat back

on the bus everyday

next to the aisle,

watching, out of the corner

of his eye,

the girl in the seat

opposite

He quietly

studies the way

she creates

lace doilies of condensation

when her breath hits

the glass,

hiding her

wishful reflection

from his

wishful view

with every even exhale.

He moves

his stork-like legs

out of her way as she leaves her seat,

hides her wren-brown hair

in the hood of her red sweatshirt,

and rushes

down the stairs,

words springing to the tip of his tongue

and dying as soon as they came,

Because

though his heart falls

as he lets his gangly

legs bring him down

the aisle behind

her and down

into the street, he

cannot muster up the courage

to speak,

for frantic feathered fliers

seize his voice and rule his thoughts

as a Mustering

of Storks

silences him.

He stops by the glassy

pond, gazing at the cautious,

stilt-legged birds

as they pick their way hesitantly

through the glittering water,

willing himself to be different,

to break the unspoken

vow of silence

he shares with them.

We Storks are shy birds, they squawk fretfully,

a dissonant clatter

as they tuck great, white wings to their sides.

Our songs are rendered mute

and our flight sunk to a slow glide

weighed down by ourselves,

a weight that not even these great wings may carry.

“Let me fly to her,” he begs,

craving freedom from their

restrictive, passive silence.

No, no, the Storks protest sternly,

unfolding their feathers to catch the wind,

Storks remain south of stormy weather,

safe from the sky and all those living under it.

We buoy our broad wings on warm winds

and let the heavens act upon us.

How his wishful thoughts scatter

As the Storks glide

off the pond’s surface,

Entreating him to follow their certain course,

Knowing that though he runs

from them, he will never run far enough

to reach her.

****
Ack!

Sorry for the long hiatus. I have a lot of poems to post that I was just too lazy to type out so stay tuned for those.

Hope you enjoyed part 2 of Pandemonium... Stay tuned for the ending in Part 3, a Pandemonium of Lovebirds!