<\/p>\n
Slowly, cautiously<\/p>\n
like a wild animal<\/p>\n
curious yet afraid<\/p>\n
instinct of the heart<\/p>\n
against instinct of the hunter<\/p>\n
the spirit of poetry stalks the edge<\/p>\n
of my campfire’s circle of light.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I see you there, prowling,<\/p>\n
restless,<\/p>\n
while I stare blankly<\/p>\n
into the fire<\/p>\n
pretending not to notice.<\/p>\n
I can see only how you move<\/p>\n
silent, liquid<\/p>\n
in the corners of my eyes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Excitement, suspense.<\/p>\n
I know you<\/p>\n
and yet I know you not,<\/p>\n
know who you have been,<\/p>\n
know nothing of who you have become,<\/p>\n
know that if I look at you too soon<\/p>\n
you will disappear.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You must come<\/p>\n
to me.<\/p>\n
I can only allow, invite,<\/p>\n
create the stillness,<\/p>\n
the emptiness.<\/p>\n
My skin is electric<\/p>\n
with your approach.<\/p>\n
It pleases me to have you<\/p>\n
even this close,<\/p>\n
sniffing the border<\/p>\n
between light and mystery.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Now you move directly in front of me<\/p>\n
keeping to the shadows<\/p>\n
but now face to face<\/p>\n
so we can look into each other’s eyes,<\/p>\n
grow accustomed to being together<\/p>\n
yet again.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It’s been a long time, you say silently,<\/p>\n
eyes unmoving as I nod.<\/p>\n
I have forgotten how coy you are,<\/p>\n
how your theatre trembles my skin,<\/p>\n
whines my blood,<\/p>\n
stretches my every sense<\/p>\n
until I can feel<\/p>\n
the color of your silence,<\/p>\n
the texture of your night.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After a time<\/p>\n
I can trace the shape of your shadow,<\/p>\n
the contours of your gathered void,<\/p>\n
and I know that you, too, are pleased<\/p>\n
to be together again.<\/p>\n
Did you think I had forgotten you?<\/p>\n
Did I think you would never return?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Invitation grows in your eyes,<\/p>\n
steady as stars,<\/p>\n
calling me to join you<\/p>\n
in the blackness,<\/p>\n
leave light behind<\/p>\n
until morning.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I hesitate,<\/p>\n
awkward, embarrassed.<\/p>\n
It’s my turn to be coy.<\/p>\n
We both smile, and I remember<\/p>\n
most gratefully<\/p>\n
the depth of your patience.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I stand, gather around me<\/p>\n
all the gentleness of the moment,<\/p>\n
check your eyes one more time,<\/p>\n
then slip beyond the edge of knowledge<\/p>\n
into the soft folds<\/p>\n
of your welcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
Slowly, cautiously<\/p>\n
like a wild animal<\/p>\n
curious yet afraid<\/p>\n
instinct of the heart<\/p>\n
against instinct of the hunter<\/p>\n
the spirit of poetry stalks the edge<\/p>\n
of my campfire’s circle of light.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I see you there, prowling,<\/p>\n
restless,<\/p>\n
while I stare blankly<\/p>\n
into the fire<\/p>\n
pretending […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poems","odd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nearbycafe.com\/loveandlust\/davidsteinberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nearbycafe.com\/loveandlust\/davidsteinberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nearbycafe.com\/loveandlust\/davidsteinberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nearbycafe.com\/loveandlust\/davidsteinberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nearbycafe.com\/loveandlust\/davidsteinberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nearbycafe.com\/loveandlust\/davidsteinberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1604\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nearbycafe.com\/loveandlust\/davidsteinberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nearbycafe.com\/loveandlust\/davidsteinberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nearbycafe.com\/loveandlust\/davidsteinberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}