Utopia
When I am
old and part weary,
I want to
swim naked
in Lake
Michigan with my lover.
I want to
disrobe, when there
is nothing
left but scales
of wrinkles
and bending bones,
old woman
hips that still retain
a bit of
their sassiness.
When all my
physical fairness
has
evaporated into antique
cheek bones
and gray eclipses
the crown of
my head, I
still want
to conjure lust,
hold my
lover’s hand, and meet
the crisp
waters of the Midwest .
When there
is nothing left
but the
ashes of teenage crushes,
and
wondering if my first lover
is still
alive, I will buoy my body
in coastal
heartland waters
older than
us all.
When I
emerge from this great
lake naked,
wet, and alive,
I want to
watch my lover’s eyes
fill with my
reflection illuminating
a beauty
transformed, revealing
that I can
still make spring.
All Night Set
Made of blushes and
shy smiles
we calm ourselves in
metaphoric stories
of a southern
childhood and the life of a
juke joint baby from
the north
Words slip us into a
private seclusion
reserved only for
secret lovers
Slowly the first kiss
is taken
Pages and pages of
verse drop to the floor
like clothes being
shed
We hibernate into an
all night slam
Night full of poetic
positions
curves and crevices
cupping together
creating vivid
imagery making our sensual
rivers waterfall into
an endless erotic ocean
causing
uncontrollable waves
We memorize each
other
reciting this passion
continually
Performing our gentle
ritual
under muted bashful
lights
falling in love a
thousand times over
Making love and
poetry
Passion and poetics
love us and feed us
We create an erotic
stage
Reciting ourselves to
an audience of poems
lying on the floor.
