The Hidden Furies After The Tryst Poem by RIC BASTASA

you have a situation
where you refuse gentleness

when romancing the river
becomes an allergy to your skin

when you meet
you like to be
just behind
to kiss the neck and then
caress both sides of the
body with the loveliness of
your hands and the
wildness of your fingers

inside the room everything
promises not even to make
a whisper
all nooks are giving you
signs that these tiny holes
can seal themselves and
keep a secret

but there is this only chamber
in your heart
that knows the price of cheating
there are Furies there which
stay and keep the silence but
only for a while

for soon after this chosen enigma
after the kiss from behind the neck
and the playing of fingers on the
sides of the hips and the hidden
agonies of the loins
they begin to rub their eyes
spread their hair
open their mouths and speak
to you honestly and with all
anger slap you with that edict:
you have gone astray
you have sinned and you must
pay.