Starving

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I was starving when we met.
Starving to be seen,

     Starving to be heard,
           to be touched.

 I was starving to be happy,
Starving to laugh,
Starving for joy,
            to be a woman.

I was starving for light,
Starving to be free,
Starving to escape,
            to be myself.

Then the wind blew the door open,
Tearing down the curtains,
Blinding me with light,
            hope returning.

You saw me.
            You heard me.
                        I laughed and felt joy.

Then you came to me,
When I struggled.
My mind saying one thing,

      my heart another.

You reached for me,
Pulling me even further from darkness.
Your touch so gentle,
            and loving.

I was a woman again,
Free, flying,
            my true self,

laughing hard, loving hard.


By M. Bernstein

(Poem and photo first published in The Sandhill Review: Art & Literary Magazine, Spring 2024, by Adams State University.)

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