Poetry: Syllables by Camille Lewis

Syllables

How many make another person happy?

Three is said to be a magic number.

Ro-me-o Mont-a-gue & Ju-li-et Cap-u-let

Pound three times on the lids

Of their tombs. No! Look what happened to us!

HAPP-I-NESS.

How hard can it be to break down?

One-two-three! Just like that.

The obvious contender: i-love-you.

One-two-three.

Now, this time:

With feeling. Project your voice.

Say it with a mouth full of

stars; say it like you have three

syllables left in the world

and you hand them to me, glistening

with hunger.

One, two, three, the waltz goes on.

Camille Lewis is a writer, avid reader and Plathian from South West England who lives with borderline personality disorder. She reads for The Winnow and Bandit Fiction.