He Called Poem by janis nicole townsend

He called…

And so many things
Went through my head
I mean, it had been
Weeks since I was
‘officially talking’ to someone
and months since I was actually
‘with’ anyone
and only God know how long
it had been since I was touched
(I mean really touched)

So, I picked up the phone…

And you know we always
Had one of those relationships where
When ‘you need me you call’
And ‘if I need you I’ll answer’
(vice versa was true the same)
and I needed that day

So, I went over…

And the anxiousness was always there
The nervousness always tingled inside
And the butterflies—
Oh the butterflies flew with hope
Hope for something that matched my past visits
Something similar to other times well spent
Because he always was good @ pretending
As was I

So, I undressed…

I… took off the disguise
That said everything was okay
And the façade that told a tale
Of being happy alone
I unmasked the lies and gave him
The naked truth
And as I stood undressed before him,
He stood unclothed before me

So, we made love…

(With other people in our minds)
but we made love just the same,
Passionately, slow, sensuous—
Achingly real
As we always did
And for a moment, it was healing
Every pain; past, present, and future
But when it was over
And I was done making love to the one who loved me
I wondered as I replayed every stroke in my mind
‘how many keys does he dance on like mine’?
‘how many sad loves songs does his body play—
how many, not with me’?
and once again I was alone.

So, I went home…

And I thought about sleeping
Where I didn’t have to sleep
With someone’s back turned to me
Where I didn’t have to wonder
If the one next to me was thinking that
My work was done, and I could leave now.
Where I could stack the pillows behind me
And put one in between my legs
And dream
Dream that my love had me wrapped up tight
Because he just couldn’t let me go.

So, I slept and slept…

And forgot all about what happened that night.
And when my girlfriends asked
I told them how perfect it was
And how he didn’t miss one spot
And how we danced all night
And they were happy for me
And couldn’t wait for it to happen for me again
I had lied so well, I fooled myself into thinking
That I couldn’t wait either
But I did wait, I waited and waited
Only God knows how long and

He called.