Pacific

The tight pulsing ball
that inhabits my head and twists through my body
melts as his breath hits my neck.
My fatigue, anxiety, coarseness
spill out through my skin
as his warm strength embraces me.

Chills course across my flesh
as I feel my sleeping heart open
as I feel my nature change.

Hands of such strength
gently reach their tips across my back
I know their toughened skin—
familiar as my own.
But when they meet my skin sighs with relief
there is never anything rough about him to me

The scent of waxy warmth
mixed with soft cool mint
greets so lightly,
so gently
I've been overtaken before I realize
I was engaged.
They pulse like heartbeats
and fingertips
with an energy and a wanting of their own.
Their desire made known
with invisible gestures and illicit tenderness.

- eva, 2002