nude in the forest
thighs wrapped
'round bark,
sapped inside finally
by more than your bed,
not your hands but mine
traced the long limbs.
my smell is deep smell
i thought
as i circled the nubby wood
i thought of you and your forest
you as lover
you as spirit
you as all men
as i circled the nubby wood
i thought of you and your forest
you as lover
you as spirit
you as all men
You mark a single tree,
i mark them all
your smell so angry
bark bristles
my smell so hungry
it needs more than marking
then,
hearing sap sounds
hearing sap sounds
the tree pushed back,
other trees called into swaying
no wind moved the leaves -
I did
my sap in their limbs now
up through their veins,
my smell on the leaves
the leaves drank
pained with rhythm
they fluttered
dancing leaves on singing limbs,
the forest moved
as crusted bark,
scraped clean,
finally dropped to earth
