We Know Desolation
(I Cannot Remember Ever Not Loving You...)

I remember lying naked beside you,
the gentle sunfire warming my flesh
& my affections for you....
I remember the delicate smell of your skin
as my lips memorized each nuzzling kiss....
I remember chasing you through emerald meadows,
laughing & collapsing into each other's arms....
I remember tickling you until our eyes were so blurred
with tears we couldn't see....
I remember having just made love with you,
still tangled together like vines,
picking clover out of your long waterfall hair....
I remember the cool lambent rainfall
sending us scrambling into a giggling embrace....
I remember your hand in mine, tingling & contented
as we sat on the old pilings under the railroad bridge
watching a colorburst ballet on the rippling water....
I remember counting stars with you,
lying on a rooftop, listening to nothing at all....
I remember watching you unfold from your dress
like a night-blooming flower....
I remember the way your breasts glistened
in the pale blue light....
I remember waking & turning in a panic,
but finding you there, smiling at me....
I remember clutching my sleepless pillow
through too many nights,
wishing you had a name....

- Barry Kapke, 1977
Lincoln, NE