Askance

She looked askance across the hall,

As twilight shadows climbed the wall.
Her eyes held questions, cool and bright,
Like restless stars before the night.

A sideways glance, both sharp and slow,
Revealed far more than words could show.
Not quite mistrust, not fully grace,
But guarded thoughts upon her face.

The silence stirred, the candles swayed,
While cautious dreams in secret played.
And in that glance, so faint, oblique,
Lay all the truths she could not speak.