A Lust Story Poem by RIC BASTASA

the story of our meeting is quite a long one
i do not even know where to start it:
the mall, or the beach
or the lobby of this hotel by the sea
where you have seen my body
and i know
with the way you look at me
from the tip of my hair
to the tip of my toe
you desire
what i have

you think
i have so much to give you for the night where we can just be two
exploring the contours
and curves and islands of some hairs and rivers in our arms
and soft grasses on our bellies
hills on your breasts, plains on my chest

and i look at you too, i am fond of deep seated eyes that twinkle
like some tiny stars, chinky, and warm
i gaze at your face, shining gently like the moon of the night
over the cool marshes
the sound of geese subsiding finally
inside my heart

of course, your body too is one island filled with desire and bursting energy, like volleyball players under the sun

and i confess i like it
and want to taste it and even eat it,
like i have turned into one
cannibal or wanting to be one, at least on that first meeting
at the lobby of the hotel by the sea
(was it named Caprice?
or Escape or Hideaway?)

yes, the lobby of this hotel by the sea, and we decide to share
a room, get some drinks, you like the vodka, and you want me to want
the vodka and i take the vodka from your hand, and we all drink
the vodka, and we were carried by the vodka like hypnotized
kids by this magician
to the heavens,

we do what we can to give meaning to the meeting and the mating
and the loving (though we suspect this matter, takes time i suppose,
takes time, you tell me, this is just a matter of sharing bodies,

sort of)
that was nice, i like it, and you are telling me, your first time, and you
really like it too, sipping not spitting, lipping and licking,
and caressing hair, mostly hair, and running fingers on my loins,

night, dawn, dusk, early morning, where boats still dock
on the white sandy shore,
coconut trees, leaves no ripples of the wind
cigarette butts wet by lips
unwashed by the tide

then it is over, it ends at the lobby of the hotel by the sea, you wear
a bleached buri hat with a blue ribbon,
and thick sunglasses, and you are carrying a bag, checking out
talking to the billing section
while the van waits taking you to the airport

and me too, by the lobby of the hotel by the sea, and we part
i'll take the boat back home

we tell each other finally, not looking intently now
(what intent really? on diminishing interest after the sharing
of some natural resources)

take care.

(i do not even bother to say: till we meet again)