R. B. Schoene

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Witness To History

You may not know it,
but each morning and night,
like a child snitching
forbidden candy, I position
myself and watch you
with your clothes, going on
or coming off.

I lose a little breath, feel
a slight gasp as I watch
your limbs, their junctions,
your breasts, be freed
or tethered, your grace
and confidence
with this process.

Each day
I, an explorer,
seeking new treasure
or secret passages.

It is easy to see Greek or Egyptian
obsession with such beauty.
They would have made statues of you,
placed you on pedestals in the Parthenon,
on love barges in the Nile.
Fleets would have launched,
armies raged across continents.

And to think
each morning
and night
in our bedroom,
I, like Ulysses or Magellan,
witness history,
while you,
oblivious,
just prepare
for the next stage
of each day.


Copyright 1995, R. B. Schoene


R.B. Schoene is on the faculty of the School of Medicine at the University of
Washington. His numerous poetry publications have appeared in both regional
and national journals, including Mediphors, The Climbing Art, and Buffalo
Bones.