This Message From Exile

You receive this message from exile...

short skirts that arrest a youthful gait
the tapered legs with ankle charms
the arms that search and sway
no longer distract me. I am free

once, compelled to linger
fixed, rocking between thighs
I wailed, my energy failed

the tangle of limbs and twisted desire
were fuel for misadventure and denial

I found not love but incompletion

this ocean beach with sea debris
driftwood, wreckage and stone
laps at ancient footprints, badly eroded
and at mine, alone

Now, aged and disgraced
consumed by infidelity
these seaweed girls sing siren songs
of unity, harmony and home

Randy Hurst