Taken

She didn’t wait to blurt his name out  

as soon as she was able,  

had found this way of settling things  

that were stirring between her  

and the many men she was drawn to  

most effective at holding them back,  

even when they followed up with questions,  

directed to politely find out about him  

or to deviously measure her. 

It took grit to bite the airspace

where playful words could’ve easily been placed,  

to speak something inane, to break the spell, 

to quell the realm of murmur, 

perceptible to them, she guessed, 

but so close to the surface in her,  

she feared her flesh like a ripening girl.