Abe

At your age
and sublime cast
of mind,
you have seen
and heard it all...
still,
it is day one
on creation's day,
still
there is more
to learn
and know,
many more times
to love
and
be loved...
and so
I keep staring
deep into
the windows
of your heart
and soul,
looking to mark
and pierce
my target's
bull-eye,
in fulfillment
of my aim
and with it
the rediscovery
of myself...
and when you have
been baited and
hoodwinked by one
you thought was
in love
with you,
only to realize
it was all
sheer charade,
loving again becomes
a tedious chat
one would rather
avoid
than join...
Abe,
I feel you
all over me,
your Queen-of-the-Night
smell as I lift myself,
lean on one arm
to gently plant
a good-night kiss
on your lustrous
lips, even as
I run
my thumb and
forefinger
around the edge
of your ears
perked up
as a hare's,
with that still
small voice
in a whisper,
Abe, dear
don't you sometimes
wish you could love
just once
and for
keeps?

Author: Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr.

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