We leaned against opposite railings and waited
for words to come as waiting for the subway
when she looked at me and smiled
and I trampled caution and dove headlong
into the pool of her gaze,
swimming playfully through lazy curls of auburn hair,
across the reef of her delicate features,
ignoring my burning lungs until I could not,
and I turned and thrust upward toward reality,
breaking the surface wild-eyed with no bearing
when she softly exclaimed, You\'re staring!