- what did she look like before she jumped? (choosing the bright side.)-

An indigo linen dress
was not all she was wearing;
she also had
hope in her heart and
held a lighthearted smile
that brightened her face.

She knew how to look quiet,
not showing the sparkle of liveliness
mixed with a second of haste
that crossed her flushed forehead.

She was sitting next to him,
but, night after night,
she had practiced
opening the narrow cage,
because she knew it couldn't last.

She laughed with him,
she even told a joke
and, for a while, I think,
she let herself believe
that nothing had changed.

She sipped her Sancerre
focussing on the moment,
resting her quiet hands
on the edge of her present life.

On a witching windy day,
the future would summon her,
waiting for her to jump
into a new life, available for love.

Until then,
she had just another breath to hold,
smiling,
sometimes shaking,
just pretending
that nothing had changed.