the bodies

i am amazed
that the bodies
at last can do
what bodies
are supposed to do.

there are no words to explain this
without embarrassment
and inaccuracy.

i will say only this:

the left leg
holds us together.
the right leg
slides against the thighs.
the hands move
(apparently randomly to the casual observer)
over and under and into and around.

afterward
there is joking. there is more
than the human share of kissing,
as if a deserved blessing offered
more than a deserved share of hope.

then the legs, the hands
again. tongues
become involved once words
no longer suffice.

afterward there is much more
kissing and the bodies amazed
at what they’re done.

in the hours
afterward
i stumble about the house
on feet that refuse to walk
and think about the distance
they’ve come today.

it is not enough
to call this poetry.
call it instead a new way of saying
old, old things.

i touch my legs, my belly,
run a hand down my pants
over my cock, understanding
the feeling of knowing the words
of an ancient language,
and of waiting
to speak them again.