She waits by the water
Waiting for her lover.
She tosses a stone in the blue- green lake.
It sinks.

Finally she feels a hand on her shoulder.
The touch is familiar,
But not friendly.
She turns to see his face.

When she looks up,
He does not smile.
When she ask what he wants,
He does not answer.

She rises to her feet,
Almost level with him.
He looks her straight in the eye,
And unfurls his secret.

She gasp at the darkness,
At the length.
He stretches his wings out wide,
Making her gasp again.

She reaches to feel the softness of the feathers,
But he pulls away.
Instead he looks down at her,
And tells her this is what she asked for.

Staying in the same spot,
He kisses her gently one last time.
Then he says he wishes there was another way,
But there’s not.

Finally he flaps his wings
and takes to the skies.
He doesn’t look back,
And she doesn’t watch him fly away.