1987 Poem by Raj Dronamraju

I trust your body
Even if I don't trust in the past
It's a solid chunk of real, a solid chunk of clay
And clay can be molded so it looks like something else
The original appearance is lost and increasingly hard to recall

I trust in the nude form of a woman
It's one moment so out of character from straight as a board reality
It's one moment that will be frozen as is among a loose and unstable wave of at the time thoughts, actions, compulsive behaviors

I trust in my declining hatred for a woman
You hurt me when I was young
And in doing so hurt my future impressions of women
But a middle-aged man at peace and happy with his life should be able to sort this out
I have and see this as one incident, not part of any grand pattern

I trust in a lot more than the faded sensual memories of a woman
I trust in music and love and the ability to recognize the malleability of the future
No need to dwell on past unpleasantness
I've travelled far on the trust in a future promise
I've travelled on trust to the other side of the world I've re-cast in my own image
That was a trust that was and will be repaid many times over