More than Sex

His body trembling
in the brilliant ripples
of orgasm.
I cannot join him—
this man gasping for air,
shivering in the thrill
of his new skin.
Is it right to love
this hunger making us
more beautiful
than we have the right?
How quickly the animal empties.
We ‘re alone again
with these bodies.
His face pale as a boy’s, struck
with October.
And there, in his eyes,
beneath the lamp’s gold glaze,
I find what I came for:
a sea of lilacs
unfurling
their withered petals.