The Beach

Poem

I had no idea who you were and sat beside you like a cat I told you my name was Matthew when you asked and introduced yourself your name was Bill and you were a dancer in town for a weekend performance I wore my jeans and a sweater for the cold and you looked like you had just played ball in a star of a luminous, t-shirt plastic-like running pants over your legs which swung where we sat on a ridge of sand in the dunes like the waves rolled toward us and broke the surface just a hand’s throw toward the moon’s lips I wasn’t a virgin but there with you I felt inexperienced and reminded myself when I was born that it came with breath and after we spoke a while you said you had to go to bed the other dancers were asleep and they’d worry if you weren’t back soon, we said goodnight and I waited and walked up to the nearest hotel climbing stairs thinking maybe I would catch your scent it’s true I wanted you and would never see you again it made no difference, I had come this close to kissing you while inside opening a door to myself for the first time to this and this’ aspects of love —I saw it and grabbed it and held myself beholden for that instance casting light to the other side of the sea I felt courage motorcycle and that was new and in my mouth