The start's obvious--describe the way
she's beautiful. Do, don't say.
Sculpt some sinuous words
into the sway of hair across the curves
of shoulders, neck and back. And yet
that's not the reason that I get
excited when she's near. Better
to onomatopoeically infer
the reaction of my heart. But that's
consequence, not cause. What's
important is feeling calm and whole
when we are one. But if it's that way told
it's me, not her. And no one will see
when I reach for her, she reaches for me.

© 1995 by John Burns

John Burns lives in Seattle. He is an attorney for unions and employees and writes poems about children, love, and bicycles.