sandy benitez

blush

When I was nine,
a young boy named David
came knocking at my heart.

Father was home,
eating pistachios on the plaid sofa.

David held a bouquet of wild flowers
in his trembling hands,
a shy smile painted across his lips.

"These are for you. I picked them myself."

As I thanked him my mouth curled up,
toward the ceiling,
where an imaginary rainbow appeared:
my cheeks absorbed the pink from the arch.

Father never said a word. His smile spoke volumes
of love poems I had yet to read.

I carried the flowers to my room,
stared at my reflection in the mirror,
not sure what to do with a handful of sighs
and a crush on fire.

Sandy Benitez has been published in over 45 print and online journals. Her first book of poetry, Ever Violet, was released in April 2007 by D-N Publishing and is available for purchase at http://www.d-npublishing.com. She is also the editor of Flutter, an electronic poetry journal.