Moonlight on a Starlit Sea 
by Jordan MacLane

Crackling, parched,
A taste of thick blood at my lip
Deep in my bones,
Dead dreams dry as dust
Ancient as race memory
This thirst, this emptiness
My constant companion
"Alone," it says
"Alone," I say

Then sweet and unexpected,
I am quenched
Drinking from an endless cup
Sweat, a gush of passion
I drown but in a dewdrop
I throw myself joyfully from the cliff
Into the vasty sea.
"I love you," he gasped
"I love you," I gasp

But the tide is out,
I shatter upon the crags below
Broken, shaking, cold
Alone, nowhere left to go
I claw my way back
Up the cliff wall,
Scrabbling upward,
Body aching, thirst building
I give in and sip at brackish catchpools
Lukewarm and sickening.
"Hey sexy," they say
"Let's get out of here," I say

The sea pounds the rocks
And strangers pound my flesh
Rhythmic and cold, flooding to crisis
The tide goes out again
Unmarked, unmissed,
I wake alone under the cold sun
A bit of my soul worn away like the rock
Sore, used, disgusted
And I climb again,
Ignoring the tide pools of filth
That mean nothing
Ignoring the stones.
"Alone," I say.
"Alone," they echo.

Atop the cliff again I stand.
There is no sea for me.
There is nothing here.
I will not believe again.
I will not pretend
To hear the tide come in.
The dust of desert overwhelms
The salt mist of sea.
I shut my eyes against the desolation
"Alone," I murmur, tasting the dry word
"Alone," I murmur, and turn away

Cool breeze rises,
A whisper at my ear
A gentle laugh, 
A soft caress like a lover's lips
The sunset's warmth fills my empty hand
Fills and gently squeezes it
Engulfing me, wrapping me,
Protecting me
And I gasp, fighting against it
Fighting against him
A dream, held at a distance
No more than that,
No more than a dream
"Alone," I insist
"Alone," I insist again

His gentle kiss touches my lips
Asking, feeling, learning, not demanding
Not forcing
My body answers his
My soul answers his
His heat, his kisses
At my throat, my breast,
My eyes, my mouth,
The back of my knee,
The soft cleft between my thighs
And I gasp
"I can't," I murmur
"You can," he smiles

I taste the sea in his kiss
I taste myself in his kiss
I dare not open my eyes
I dare not look into
The eyes of this phantom
But he will not let me go
Will not let me slip away
Into desolation,
I take his kiss for courage
I open my eyes to his
And see there
Moonlight on a starlit sea
Endless, vast, deep
The cliff gives way beneath me
I fall
And there is no fear
"Together," his eyes say
"Together," mine say.

(c) 2008 by Jordan MacLane,  all rights reserved