At least Pyramus and Thisbe had a wall…
I lean on the rail of the sun deck and watch the wind catch your hair, thin braids caressing your shoulders where my fingertips should be. You smile softly as the sun sets over the horizon. Brilliantly orange like your dress, as periwinkle twilight promises to close in.
“You just had to be beautiful, didn’t you?”
Gentle, knowing smile, “You’re beautiful too… It isn’t fair.”
I take your hand. Is it warm like mine? Or would you stay longer than you should because it’s cold and I comfort you?
I kiss the back of your hand and feel your lips press to my knuckles. How soft? I step toward you, place my free hand on the small of your back. The space between our bodies impossibly slender. And stretching forever.
The record player crackles. Grainy piano wafts into the air like mist. Billie Holiday sings “I’ll be seeing you” across time. Her voice is distant. Tin and wires. Unbearable.
Lay your head on my shoulder. Rest your palm on my chest as we dance under the ever darkening sky. Barely swaying. Our day will be over before we know it.
I long to remember the weight of you against me. The smell of your hair, your breath steady on my neck. Can’t you to feel my heart rampaging at my ribs trying to reach you?
A wave rocks the boat and we lose a step. You don’t let go. So I don’t let go. And we go on dancing.
“I think I would never stop kissing you.”
So we kiss the salt of the sea between us. What do you taste like?
Water moves through me. Mouth of the Mississippi spilling into Sete Cidades. Would you meet me there?
My eyes never leave your eyes but I say, “the stars are infinite tonight.”
Your eyes never leave mine but you reply, “the stars are always infinite, darling. But at least the moon is full tonight.”
And tomorrow she’ll wane. And the tides will go with her. And so will you.
So for now. I won’t let go. If you won’t let go. And we’ll go on dreaming together until the dream falls away.