She turns, shuffles, in the opposite direction,
Wanting -
Needing,
To get away.

Out -
of this suffocating landscape,
Where people stare,
And compliment,
And do not go away,

When all she wants,
Is to slip,
Silently past,
unnoticed,
unremarkable,
unimportant.

Eyes meet hers across the room.

She ducks,
Underneath a waving arm,

Spins,
As someone goes past,

Spies,
The nearest exit.

The eyes blink, and she is gone.

Out -
to the darkness of night,
Where there is no-one,
And there is space,
And she can finally breathe.

She turns, strides, in the opposite direction,
Needing -
Wanting,
To get away.