“Whither,” a poem of wanton love…
“…yearning that has ever filled her…”
Whither
He the tempter, she the temptress.
Roles they never imagined in their separate worlds
before they chanced to come together,
roles they accept without skill or will to play,
roles animated by the drab constraint of her clan,
and the drear, deadened danger of his career
in thrall to loveless intrigue.
Quickly they see each other as woman and man,
quickly the heat is on them,
quickly they twirl in dance without dalliance,
quickly they know their plight,
awkward in their pauses,
denying the impulse to embrace.
At day’s end he faces her, silent,
his desire wantonly on offer,
his smile closed by fear that he will charm her
into a love that must become a misery in his world.
She faces him and does not speak
but offers herself with lust she cannot name
and yearning that has ever filled her.
Her smile awaits his beckoning,
for long moments…
He lowers his eyes in despair, she turns away
and accepts her failure with no whisper,
no waiting,
no wishing for another chance,
no words to claim him for a love
that would wither in her world.
They give without taking.
They reach to each other
across an unimagined gulf
that sears their willing hearts,
they lean to the threshold of desire
but they do not take the last step.
They part, to languish in the limits of their lives.
They learn that heart can be another way
to spell hurt.
February 14, 2016
Inspired by the film Witness (1985)
My poem “Whither” was published January 23, 2018, in my second collection of 47 poems, Seeing far: Selected poems. You can buy it on Amazon (paperback and Kindle), or get it free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2018 All rights reserved.
We Were Soldiers Once…and Young
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Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (ret.)
and Joseph L. Galloway
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In other words: Poems for your eyes and ears with 64 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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