In sandalwood grove
I learned the echo of water to your form
My hands cupping clay-stained water
And smearing the settling sediments
About your prone frame

I kissed resin from between your knees
And beckoned hippo’s bray in dusks heat
Tangerine rinds cusp dipped dew between
Your collar and my own
As I newly learned the friction of water about my body
Sinking headily into tones of each other’s woods