Kiss the girl whose hair
is piled atop her head,
like her thoughts;
tumbling down in bundles of curls
as they overflow.

Kiss the girl who drags you out
from beneath awnings &
makes you face the rain,
while she dances fearlessly
in a soaked, diaphanous sundress.

Kiss the girl who insists on
preparing you tea &
pouring it in your presence;
inviting you to witness
the intimacy of simple ceremony.

Kiss the girl who breaks
the stillness of occupied space
to reach out & encompass your hand;
seeking the sensation of your being
to comfort her through silent moments.

Kiss the girl who takes
up into her arms
your scattered inclinations & obsessions;
teaching herself to love & nurture them
as if they were her own.

Kiss the girl who envelops you
with her sultry sentiments &
provokes you with her precocious intellect,
leading you to question
all concrete belief.

Kiss the girl whose
very existence embraces you
like a contented sigh or the kiss of sunshine
one might play beneath
on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Kiss that girl & kiss her deeply,
& with considerable intensity;
as if to break the seal between your lips
would shatter her
into a thousand pieces.

& do not let her go.

There is a sweet pain in mapping the history of our coupling.
     meter by meter, each grassy
     embrace and sand-filled kiss
     charts a curious and comforting record.

Stolen moments, a theft
     of space, a conquering
     of body and mind.  Dying leaves
     cover a multitude of our sins

That copse of trees
     my birthday gift, my knees
     quivered and felt
     barely tethered to the ground

Stars wheeling above
     us and behind my eyelids
     as I came, shuddering
     my pulse the steady swift thrum
          of a deep cello chord, velvet-rich
          against the muscle of your tongue
     my spasming thighs, reluctant
          to let you go
                         always.

By daylight cars
     come and go
     oblivious to the chapel,
     the consecrated ground we made

Desire, our religion
     lust, our communion.

I baptized
     the upholstery of your truck
     sweet abandon - my satisfied
     cries a catechism.

Sing Hosanna in the highest
     for every delicate sigh
     you've wrought from my naked body

This, then, is Eden -
     every inch I survey I see
     us naked, worshipping, with
     greedy hands and mouths
     by silver moonlight

The grunts and moans of
     our ******* a hallelujah,
     a psalm.

My temple, your body
My pulpit, your ***** **** -
     your salty skin
In this worship, I am
     perfect - my sermon
     most holy -is an entreaty

Love me,
     Heal me,
          Make my weary body alive again.

Amen.  
     Amen.

Welcome to our city,
The happiest place on earth!
We’re conditioned to be happy folks,
Starting right from birth.

In the mornings are our daily shots,
To keep our senses dull.
Then we walk to morning class,
Grins plastered to our skulls.

They seat us by a great big screen
With images and sound.
They show us what will happen
If we ever slip a frown.

We gawk at the “Correction Site”
You’ll see as you drive in.
It’s filled with rotting corpses
With no choice BUT to grin!

So we are always happy!
Happy as can be!
There is no crime, or sin, or tears,
Only endless glee!

Can’t you see me smiling?
Don’t you want this too?
Come join our happy city!
Yes, the city, she wants you….

It's one a.m. with yellow skies.
I peer above with fearful eyes.

What is this mess?
The end of the world?
An alien invasion?
A nuke unfurled?

Half the world runs helter skelter,
While the other half parties.  "***** taking shelter!"

And you, my love,
Are in group number two.
And in this moment
I wish I was too.

But you see the fear, alive in my eyes,
As they search and search these doomsday skies.

You draw me close,
So warm and alive,
And together, I think,
We might just survive.