he has heard so many stories
his parents explicitly forbade him to ever go there
the priest told him it was an unholy place
but the stories, the stories!
he creeps around a rock and sucks in his breath
a tall woman stands there naked
oh better than all stories!
he stares as she pours something into her bath
she turns and freezes him with her eyes
then grins and dares him, "would you help?"
he walks closer, eyes wide enough for a whole life
she lets him suds and rinse her hair
then wash her hands and feet
and watch her languidly wash the rest
she towels dry then leads him underground
brushes her hair near a small fire
into which he feeds leaves whose scent dizzies him
only then does she don a dress
one that barely hides what he has seen and watched
she leads him into a chamber where smoke wisps rise
from cracks in the floor and puts him in a corner
then sits where she can breathe those wisps
and finally takes him to another room
hides him behind a curtain and steps onstage
he trembles at her new voice
and listens to the riddles she poses questioners
who leave apparently satisfied
she walks offstage and takes his hand
another woman walking by winks at him
then steps onstage to gasps from the audience
he walks with his who leads him to her secret bath
"go now," she tells him, "tell no one anything"
she smiles a smile as challenging as her grin
"know that if you return you must stay"
he takes an hour getting home
wondering whether he will return
but almost sure
No comments:
Post a Comment