one kiss

* This was the first poem I ever entered into a contest, and it won! (Thank you to poet/judge John Hamilton). It is about a very brief moment, and all that our minds can process in an instant, especially if that instant holds something very special. * ~ your silken skin … gleams opaline … bathed in Luna's soft wash of cornflower like a porcelain Madonna by Michelangelo conjured to life by the magic of moonlight … your eyes open just long enough to affix mine and affirm I'm in a mode of veneration (you're casting the line) … the soft details of your visage above me are close enough to occupy my entire gaze but far enough that I can interpret your every expression and you're well aware of it (setting the hook) … as your gentle sway attends the cadence of my core, you teasingly open your eyes just far enough to let me know they're rolled back in an aspect of rapture and by seductive design you nip your lower lip with your teeth and hold it there (reeling me in - carnal captive) … the beating catches in my chest and takes my breath with it heaving up and arching you with it's wake as you take advantage of my movement … my breath finally returns in a guttural sigh, and as if trading an erotic dialogue your supple chili pepper lips curve into a gentle smile, born of the knowledge that I'm now completely at your mercy … the spice in your smile freezes my gaze to your mouth, and my mind's eye conjures up fresh, plump raspberries and soft whipped cream, making me thirst for the nectar-sweet taste of what's dancing inside … as if my thoughts were your own your smile relaxes and parts just enough to tempt me with the fleshy fruit of your tongue, and I reach up with my right hand to the back of your head (my left hand has its own quarry) weaving my fingertips through your hair I pull your head downward as you relax until your face is just close enough to be out of reach of mine and you turn it quickly to the side so it's completely bathed in moonlight for you know all too well how that slays me (the moon painting your skin) … eyes still closed the sexy smirk returns to your face with confirmation (via my sighs) that your seductive game is having its desired affect … repeating the process you turn your face back toward me and play pink peek-a-boo with your tongue - opening your smile just enough to torment me with it's moist gleam, bouncing playfully just inside your mouth as if waiting for it's first taste of ice cream … you relax your neck and I tug your head gently but firmly down again, toward mine but as before, you turn your face at the last moment, smile sensuously, and taunt me with your parted lips - sugary tongue making more of an appearance this time … after tempting me with this ritual, 'juste assez' you stop one more time just short of my face, and THIS time it's MY mouth that stays closed ... so you softly brush my lips with the tip of your tongue and wait, as I continue my feigned role as the 'reluctant lover' turning the tables of this tottering tease (if only in my mind) … but we both know it's all for show - that you're in complete control of the game holding all the carnal cards - you, my Queen of Hearts … very slowly and deliberately your eyes finally open and hook with mine the reflected light of the moon just enough to sparkle life into that gaze that ruins me sullen and vulnerable and yours - yours ... to the depths of my bare soul where I can't run or hide or escape the grasp of your heart on my very being … where love's visceral truth cries out for it's own knowledge … where it longs to be consumed by it's own passionate hatred for anything that isn't US … you giggle, a fiery squeak - and instantly my breath is gone again and this time it keeps catching in my gut as I gasp again-and-again for it's return but that LQQK holds me boundless (as boundless as my body holds yours) … I am drifting, swirling, falling ... INTO you … our spirits are now melding so completely that I almost feel ... alone we are so much of one element that "we" feels like "I" - and it terrifies me ... how can I be looking into your eyes, and at the same time feel so completely taken by you that I AM you ... and you, I? I have to close my eyes for an instant - just long enough to remember where I am and WHO I am and when I open them again yours are closed, (thank heaven) and my breath finally returns in a massive surge of adrenaline - my dopamine-filled blood rushing and coursing through my body like music in my marrow my skin awakening to your tender touch … I look up at you and that coy, sexy, knowing smile is still warming your face (my reward is close now) … my hand is still on the back of your head and I relax my grip just enough to let your hair fall ... you shake it gently, so it now hangs child-like about your face, framing it like a fallen angel's halo … very delicately, I pull your face down toward mine one last time (still smiling - helpless before you) and just before your nose touches me you twist your head slightly to match mine and your hair falls thickly between our mouths ... at long last I am rewarded for my patience at last you reel in your helpless catch having driven me to the very brink, you finally take pity on me and as your mouth opens I drink you in like a man who has crossed the desert without water - spicy smile, raspberry lips, creamy tongue angel hair, hint of briny-sweet from your glistening skin - all are a honey tangle in our mouths stirred by a love, passion and closeness unimaginable … I surrender ... closing my eyes I give in to it ALL letting you gather me, plunging - swimming up the current to your source willing to do all you wish or bid of me - I am home, I am complete I am fulfilled and nourished and quenched I am yours, absolute … the fool for … your kiss.