The Birth of Venus

The Birth of Venus

We woke hours before
Necessary,
Crept from accidental four-star sheets
Already strained with the weight of anticipation;
Hurried blocks and wave-whispered silences later,
The gate creaked open easily
With a touch--
Arthritic joint willing to yield
Just this once-
And so
Just this once
First pants
Then shirts
Panties
Bras
Were shed to the sand, the rocks,
Wherever the wind led them...
We eased in,
Slipped into the sea
So that the salt itself
Failed to notice,
Splashed
While singing show tunes
To the feel of water
In cunt past nipple under eye,
Slid through the silky substance
Of free,
Of knowing exactly what it is
You are not supposed to do,
Doing it anyway...
The stolen minutes soaked our skin,
The sky blushed with delight
While watching;
Having pleased the gods
Then
I retreated, toweled, returned
To the stale drab of normalcy after
Having knotted the memory to every pore:
Running naked on a pier
Toward life
Breaking like the clouds around me.