A Scarlet Scarf in Passing

A Scarlet Scarf in Passing
from XX
By Nabil Abou Baker
3/27/10

Moments ago she passed me.
I was walking on Fifth Avenue,
And enthralled by all the different stores.
My attention span was – nonexistent.
The few thoughts that did run
Through my head consisted merely of
Stupendous awe. Until, I witnessed her.
She wore an ash hued trench
That extended just passed
Her knees with black and
Sky pinned striped pants.
Her heels knocked the pavement
With confidence and power.
It reminded me of the horse drawn
Carriages trotting slowly on the pavement
Making sure every huff makes full contact.
The tropically artic air breezed through
Her scarlet scarf, which lay
Wound loosely around her neck once.
Her scarlet scarf was not alone
In waving through the air;
There was the tawny straight ink
Coloring the atmosphere by her.
It fell direct, just passed her chin,
Then returned for a more emphatic
Statement of strength! She came closer
And had bangs obliquely cutting her
Forehead and concealing – momentarily –
Just one eye. My heart began to pace
And my breath too. She was arms length
Away, took her left hand and brushed
Her slant hair to the left exposing the
Second eye. They pierced me. An
Unknown feeling of panic rushed
Through as a gazelle being chased by his
Predator, a powerful lioness on the
Savannah. At that moment, I just
Couldn’t – with my sweaty palms and
General lack of ability to effectively
Approach a stranger – look into her eyes,
Let alone talk to her. I felt like I was back
In high school, an outsider that didn’t
Really fit in to those clichés, one of
Jocks and cheerleaders.
I don’t know if she was a cheerleader.
It replays in my head sometimes.
Where the story changes to one in
Which I stop her scarlet scarf
From flying away. We talk. She
Tells me that she is grateful that
I caught her scarlet scarf, the one,
Which her mother knitted for her when
She was just a child. She tells stores
Of her success as a business
Woman on Wall Street dealing
With various assets of the stock
Market. And I begin to see
Central Park in the distance.