Braille

Melody Jue

If I could read Braille
I wonder if I’d see stories for children
Written in the pattern of silver glitter
Accidentally spilled across my desk,
Or read one-act plays as I dream on my bed,
Gazing at the rough, spackled terrain
Of my sandpaper ceiling?

Perhaps I might dive into the ocean and read
The lyrics of Mer song configured in bubbles,
Or glance at the fast-paced cursive of diamonds
Lighting on water. Perhaps—chancing to observe
The arrival of newly washed shells resting
On soft sand—I might know the great epics of the sea.

If I could read Braille,
I wonder if I’d see couplets dancing on the
Freckles of your dimpled cheeks,
Sonnets wrapping around your paint-splattered shirt—
For me, for my eyes only—
Until you take me in your arms and there is no Braille,
No text, no texture—
Only an electric smoothness
And no need for words.