Self esteem

I was in a hotel room in Edinburgh looking out over a park. There was a young woman sitting under a tree and I watched her reading. She looked so happy and absorbed that it prompted me to write this poem

Time out
 
There she was again,
beneath the oak,
cross-legged and smiling,
holding the book
balanced loosely on bended knees
with that satisfied look.
She laughed
as the wind gently lifted her fringe
from a partially obscured face
and she briefly lost her place.
Her eyes sparkled with interest
as they danced across the text.
A leaf dislodged by the breeze
rested unnoticed on her shoulder,
so absorbed in the pages was she,
so free.
Her skin was lightly tanned,
unblemished and fresh
she cared not for the time
nor how long she sat
and how I longed for that.