Musings

i'm touched. someone enjoyed my poem and let me know. feel as if i should thank her. here's a poem written for an old friend. c

Ablution

"Breathe into your belly.
Let your mind follow your breath,"
she whispers,
pressing the balls of her hands into my shoulders
my body flattening into the table.

She holds the weight steady,
urging me to surrender myself to the touch.

"Breathe into your belly.
Let your mind follow your breath."

I remember my first love.
She too believed in the power of hands,
small hands that cupped my heels
in a pool of lavender oil.

Like a priestess, she knew how to anoint me,
how to caress each toe until it squirmed,
until the foot tingled.

She modeled self-restraint,
tasted the joy of giving joy,
anchoring her fingers on the top of my foot
so her thumbs stroked my sole,
deep and steady.

I wanted a lover with long, slim fingers on a wide palm.
Instead, they were stubby, creased,
raw from working in flowers.

"Breathe into your belly.
Let your mind follow your breath."

But she changes under touch,
her fingers imagined tapers lighting my way.
They move firmly, deliberately,
over my ankle, my calf until her fingertips press my thigh.

Her hands hold me gently, lovingly,
as she bends down washing me.