Still Life with Bread and Light

Morning light shatters
On water like safety glass
Seagulls shriek their warnings
I watch them scatter

The candle bleeds wax
I let it suffer
Bread rises in the dark below

Yeasty perfume climbs the stairs uninvited
I wait here, held
The sun climbs without asking

I close my eyes
Feel the light move across my face
Slow as a hand I once trusted

The world turns without consulting me
I stay anyway
The bread will be born this morning
I will be its only witness

--Vera