-- Just a Taste -–

John Herlihy

. . . And this is just a taste, he thought . . .

. . . This is the moment, forever sought . . .

Their eyes had locked together in a freeze.

Time stopped, but not the softness of breeze.

The next step would be a leap into the gulf,

What they call total surrender, a loss of self.

Her face was cradled there in his hands,

Her smile a line of light, without reprimands.

The eyes open sightless, but the lids closing,

In slow motion, ever so slowly, as a baby dozing.

The eyes winking open, trying to stay awake,

Ride the wave of this blissful dream never to break.

A sea of blue against a black drape of night sky;

We had just been holding hands, ever so shy.

Gratitude and wonder filled the bay of my heart,

As moonglow seeping through clouds that part.

Now her eyes are closed as if in affirmation;

But mine are opened wide as if in celebration.

Her hands rose to my face, now he is cradled,

As he gazes in raw anticipation, now enabled.

Together their mouths touch, kissing fiercely.

Time enough later, he thought, to explore tenderly.

For now, safe, present, accounted for, in love,

He hears ruffled feathers, whirring wings, a dove.

Lips, teeth, tongues begin to taste the truth;

Life reaffirmed in the lone cry of the wolf.

The dam broke, to set loose unbridled feeling,

No pretense, no courtesy, only the mind reeling.

No lies between them, no intervening space,

Stolen moments, at one, in this unique place.

Lost, these two are, in their momentary giving;

Newfound love captures the spirit of their living.

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(c) John Herlihy 9 January 2019