A lonely, modern man
on what seems, for him,
the loneliest of nights,
lies on an unadorned bed
negotiating pleasure between sleep and waking
perfecting the art of the isolated lover.
A voice breaks through
his aloneness
in the dark she arrives
exceeding Athena in beauty
and sensuality
with more seductive images
and promises of flesh magic
than a lifetime of forbidden fantasies.
She, most tragic of all lovers
her passion unabated by time
and the placements of myth-writers, says,
I must make love in the darkest darkness
better yet,
darkness and eyes covered,
do not touch my hair
for a night let us
not engage in myth,
ambiguity, or punishments
by envious gods and goddesses.
I meet Perseus night after night
in punishing nightmare
but tonight it will be your flesh
I will take you into my mouth
and make you forget
all worldliness.
My two sisters immortal
but please do not
request an explanation
I would rather make love
than explain.
My flesh lovers are rewarded
with a lyrical orgasm
a taste of eternity…
The masturbatory lover
now joined in bodily abandon
starts to question his sudden luck
as he summons every gymnastic movement
he had ever imagined
the kind unabashed figures
in adult films employ
to embrace tabloid immortality—
damn middle-agedness
damn the routine and repetition
damn the uncut lawn,
he thinks, as if purest pleasure
has a dark-side rival.
As he contemplates his exhaustion
the munificence of such thoroughness
and utter sensual ecstasy
she tells him her name
not that he requires ID—
Medusa, she says, her voice
exciting him yet again
and before he can recall his mythology
she turns on the light.
Canadian poet, fiction writer, and playwright J. J. Steinfeld lives on Prince Edward Island, where he is patiently waiting for Godot’s arrival and a phone call from Kafka. While waiting, he has published 24 books, including An Unauthorized Biography of Being (Stories, Ekstasis Editions, 2016), Absurdity, Woe Is Me, Glory Be (Poetry, Guernica Editions, 2017), A Visit to the Kafka Café (Poetry, Ekstasis Editions, 2018), Gregor Samsa Was Never in The Beatles (Stories, Ekstasis Editions, 2019), Morning Bafflement and Timeless Puzzlement (Poetry, Ekstasis Editions, 2020), Somewhat Absurd, Somehow Existential (Poetry, Guernica Editions, 2021), Acting on the Island (Stories, Pottersfield Press, 2022), and As You Continue to Wait (Poetry, Ekstasis Editions, 2022).
https://49thshelf.com/Books/A/Acting-on-the-Island
https://49thshelf.com/content/search?SearchText=J.+J.+Steinfeld
Published 2/16/23
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