The Longing and the Far Away

if I could read the lights that slip and vanish
on the smooth wet jelly of your eyes
if I could open the secret compartments
by turning your nipples just so
(two right, four left, three right)

the longing and the far away

if I could see the clear water
upwelling, that brings
your uncomplicated kindness
from the groundwater
the substrate of love below
the fossil beds and coal seams
and the burdens of dust

the longing and the far away

if I could tell just who
made the arrangements
for us to meet in this life
too late and too soon

if I could understand
the longing and the far away

the longing and the far away
if I could understand