She might just as well have been her cat chasing after a reflection of light dancing across the wall. The mercurial vision of who she was kept eluding her. In a flash traveling backwards she glimpsed herself timeless as a child. On the surface of the mirror she saw her renewed face. The bandages removed, the once bruised and swollen flesh smooth, wrinkles tapered, turned back like clockwork. An appeal she hoped to gain along with her husband lost to his preoccupations, still desiring to be perceived as a lion. It had long been a source of pride, for him, as well for her, rewarding themselves with the bounty of his spoils. But growing old took strength and his mane receded with time. Now when he roared it accomplished nothing except to threaten the love they had both fought to maintain. Once aggressive and confident in their union, their bodies sleek and tan, the envy of the savannah, they now sat apart, no longer the animals they had been. But their passion for life had conceived, nurtured and raised offspring. Existence affirming itself. Procreation come and gone. The spectacular dust settling around them. But the questions remained. Was it ability or stupidity to have chased after the sun? Good fortune or deception to have caught it? Acumen or folly to have sold it? She watched as her husband dangled his gold watch from its chain, toying and teasing their pet. They exchanged smiles. A moment for reflection. Metallic glimmers projected upon a living room wall – with their cat pouncing after it. This pursuit of light.
Excerpt from Light-Years in the Dark: StoryPoems (see more)