Desire

I see you 

turning your face

against desire

and I am here to tell you

that you are wrong 

it is not a 

dangerous temptation

it is the force

that takes us past the hills

to see what we have

never seen before

it is the longing 

for the unknown

that allows us to plunge

deeper into the ocean

towards the bed 

of the sea 

or into the cavern

where the mouth of the 

earth opens. 

If this brief 

revolution

is our only time 

here in the world 

of the flesh

then I want my 

blood and money’s 

worth of it 

I want to plunge my arms

up to the elbow 

in every sensation

from pain to pleasure

until the branches of my 

nerves are overwhelmed

with feeling and 

there is nothing left of me

to burn away. 

When I shut my eyes 

and go

into the night of my life 

I want to have

nothing to regret 

not having tasted.