In the airport departure lounge,
queueing at the boarding gate,
my eyes skim the range of travellers -
two businessmen stand in their own electricity of discussion behind me;
an obese woman, in a sapphire-coloured gown, bats lashes;
a lush-haired man speaks gentle Afrikaans beside her ...
my roving gaze is arrested
by a gesture: a soft-edged,
hairless man's right arm arcs up and
over his stubbly scalp -
his fingertips drop
to stroke it, and then
his hand reaches easily in
to the loose, blonde strands at the neck
of the soft-edged woman on his left.
Several combing caresses rhythm him
- without a word or glance -
into her confidence.
My last look sees her
nestling into his shoulder:
a beautifully unhandsome couple -
toad-mouthed, both; relaxed; happy
in the roundness
of their moment's world.
- Silke Heiss, 13th March 2019
