starlite motel

after several frantic e-mails & texts from me, you agree to
meet me at the starlite motel. tawdry, but well hidden from
accusing eyes. in the room, I send a simple text: rm12 hurry
 
twenty minutes pass. headlights flare in the fawn-colored drapes.
my attempt to embrace you fails, as you click off the main switch,
turn on a small lamp & cover the shade with your blue scarf.
 
at last we hold each other. passion overtakes us, & we fumble with
our clothes like first-time teenagers, a little afraid of the rhapsody
that beckons them.
 
when we join together, it’s too pure for description. too beautiful
for the dirty words associated with it. too beautiful even for the
aesthetics of a poem…
 
 
“I have to go.”
you kiss me lightly & back away, but I grab you & pull you into me.
I kiss you hard, very hard. because the memory of this kiss must
sustain me through all the many nights that you will not be with me
again. a minute, two minutes, three, pass too quickly.
 
you gather your clothes & retreat briefly to the bath. moments later,
you rush past the bed without looking at me & exit the room.
 
and I feel my tears begin…