sshh!   sshh, do not wake.   Let me watch your chest gently rise and fall, marking time as it creeps toward the sun rise.   sshh, do not wake.   Let me think  I am the reason a shadow of a smile slips across your lips, pausing just long enough to be seen in the pale rose tint, cast by the morning light, falling softly on your face.   sshh, do not wake.   Let me believe I am the one you dream of; even though the name you mumble, as my fingers glide gently down your cheek, does not belong to me. Still, it is not spoken clearly, so I will hear it as mine, twisted by sleep.   sshh, do not wake.   Let me slip quietly from your side, leaving you to enjoy your dream... whatever it may be.     copyright AP Ashley 1996     Comment/Next/Back/Home