Winding
You tie me to the second-hand
Turn the gears back twice.
Like a watermill submerging
The cold
It shocks my heart.
Each time around I reach for you
Each time around you laugh.
You ask if I enjoyed the ride
I pray: ‘be not the last.’
Why can’t I remember more?
The way you looked that night.
The naked touch
The cherry tongue
The lotus on your back.
The first time is so fleeting
A carnival on sand.
The lights burn out
The music fades
You slip beneath my sight.
You tie me to the minute-hand
Turn the gears back twice.
I’m waiting for my hands to shake
My hairs to stand on end.
My pulse to show
My cheeks to flush
The anticipation dies.
When at last the water comes
A warm and gentle bath.
You wash my back
So tender
As I turn to other sounds.
Your lights have not abated
Your music finely tuned.
Please understand
These colours.
God, these colours.
So bright
So new.
You tie me to the hour-hand
Turn the gears back twice.
That clock
I fear is broken now
The stars stay where they are.
At last I feel I’m moving
I’ve been moving all the while.
My skin is waxed and faded
I’m clutching to my bones.
An eternity had come and gone
When the water comes.
So much I meant to thank you for
The way you looked each night.
For every touch and every taste
The lotus on your back.
Suddenly my heart shocks still
I drift into the cold.
And then I see you smiling
In your carnival below.