And Then There Was You
Ah, the ideal man or woman.
We all have an idea in the back of our minds, or even right up front for some of us, what our ideal mate would be. Now, some of us never really make up our minds, some settle for less through fear or self-image, some meet this person early in their lives and never look back, God bless them. And then there are the rest of us.
Sure we all have a type, or even two or three, I know I do. But a type is different from an ideal, the criteria is different. But the idea of True Love, y'know "Princess Bride" true love, is when you actually meet your ideal, and the stars align in such a way that, despite the odds, you happen to be their ideal as well! Like getting hit by lightning while scratching a winning lottery ticket, the odds are against it.
I knew that I had met "the One" about a half hour into the first date. She was then, and is today, the perfectly formed container to house my soul.
So I wrote this.
AND THEN THERE WAS YOU
The seduction started before we ever met.
When I would imagine what you would be like
as I dated, I subtracted a bit of this,
added a bit of that,
changed my mind about what I liked,
as I built my own idea
of what would be perfect,
compositing the idea
from the girls I knew.
Imagination fueled fantasy
as I became aware of sexuality.
I thought of what I would like,
how it would feel
what I would say, and do.
I pictured lust, flaring hot and wild,
tangling and tearing of clothes,
hunger and embarrassment in equal measure,
hands probing, trailing, squeezing,
my skin reacting with warmth,
playing at resistance, serious about exploration.
Imagination fueled fantasy
as I became aware of sexuality.
I thought of what I would like,
how it would feel
what I would say, and do.
I pictured lust, flaring hot and wild,
tangling and tearing of clothes,
hunger and embarrassment in equal measure,
hands probing, trailing, squeezing,
my skin reacting with warmth,
playing at resistance, serious about exploration.
Insistent intimacy,
overcoming and being overcome.
I thought of penetration -
flesh of one surrounding the flesh of another,
two bodies mingling,
acting and feeling as one,
shared breath hot in our mouths.
Forcefully, tenderly -
vigorously, languidly -
a commingling of opposites.
My mind conjured darkness pierced by light,
a fire in the blood,
our hearts unconfined and consumed,
the end of childish things,
the totality of being human.
All this I held as fact without proof
until you entered my view
and beggared reality,
showing how small I had dreamt.
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Shared with DVerse Poets for Open Link Night.
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©2013 Christopher Reilley
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lillian here....pub tender and writer of today's OLN prompt/and nonprompt at dVerse. I appreciate your explanation before your poem. And these two lines in the poem, I am smitten with:
ReplyDelete"the end of childish things,
the totality of being human."
The ending is wonderful....love that turned out to be more than your dreams.
One thing I might add as a septuagenarian, happily wed for 54 years, it truly helps if one marries your lover and your best friend. The idea of an ideal? hmmmm . . . I'd have to think about that. I think for many, there is no thinking like that. We meet people who we like, commune with in different ways. Could be "ideal" can be designed by present fads, media, etc and we meet someone who doesn't meet the "norm" but we relate to immediately....or after a few encounters. The sensuality - yes. But the idea of friendship far outlives the sensuality. Just my two cents. I enjoyed your poem!
I love to hear about people finding their soul mate and I enjoyed your poem, Chris. It’s passionate and honest, with the ‘hunger and embarrassment in equal measure’. I especially love the final stanza.
ReplyDeleteI really hope you show your soul mate this poem. She needs to see it. I'm glad you found her. I also appreciate the reality that it takes hard work beyond finding each other. Beautiful poem, Chris.
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