Fade in fade out

I will find him by the river, and take his face

in my hands and they will tremble

at his touch, but still unselfconscious

they will rest on his temples as though

that is all they are meant to do.

He will kick away the stones and pebbles

and his face will be the rainwashed sky,

his body the aerial roots of the banyan

that anchor my life in the crosswinds.

And I will balance on tiptoe

maybe a little shaky, a little awestruck.

I’ll reach up and find his honeysweet mouth,

his breath the sharp drizzle of eucalyptus leaves,

fused silk and stubble his cheekbones,

the curve of his lashes plain poetry

and I will kiss him till I fade into song.