EMOTION

EMOTION

If I could bundle all of my emotion,
And toss it in the sea,
It would squirm and in the murky waters
Gingerly form your body.

And I would swim after it, desperate American crawl,
Throwing away all again for the amble of your walk,
The animation of your talk,
The life that hangs in your black curls.

And oh, oh, the differences abide,
Longing for a love I cannot reach.
You sit yards away, asleep, head cradled in hands
I sit loving you, ostrich-like in my shame sand.

And oh, oh, the treacherous waves I ride,
Malcontent surfer, following you,
Treading light on your heels.

Beacon of desire, wingless and beached.
Wishing my feelings had lightning rod wheels.
Wishing I were looser at mouth and could shout my love,
Wishing my eyes could swim in your pulse and tell all.

If I could free my emotion and toss it to the sky,
Your bones would form, your face, leg, and thigh
And weave a tapestry that would bare my secret.

If ever there was an injustice, it is this-
I know you and I know you not.
I walk behind you wishing union, dreading your discovery.

-Bruce Potts
Copyright 1983
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED