Infatuation Poem by Tom Courtney

You know that special someone
who draws you in beyond your interests
in health and sanity?
with the inexorable force of sex?

And every fiber of your being is saying
you will never meet another one like her/him
and you very well may not
to your benefit or detriment?

And he/she’s somehow flawed – too perfect
from the beginning to the end – a disaster?
a woman/man to throw your well-organized
and comfortable life completely out of kilter?
He/she smiles
and you can feel the beguiling beginning?

You see the perfect mouth
that perfect form to fit you own embrace?
the strength and the weakness of her/his calm?
his/her fervor – the sparkle of her/his teeth?

A wilder and stronger love
than you have ever known before?
At least since the last time around?
and the time before that?

He/she will come to dominate your most intimate
and private moments and your money?
You can already see it in her/his eyes?
as he/she stands there before you
with her/his liberated confident stance
hands firmly clasped to his/her hips
feet slightly apart – body language
pounding in your brain?

Her/his chin juts out
His/her hair flashes in the light
She/he breathes a misty breath across your eyes
and has the world turning his/her way
from that moment
and you don’t even know her/his name?

And did you wish this to happen?
didn’t you?
Didn't you fall right into it?
as if on automatic pilot –
essentially leaped?
But did you ever stop to wonder
if this particular one could give you love
in return? Probably not
You didn’t want love in return

Aren't you seeking an object
on which to pour out your passion
and a toy to place in a bottle
a trophy to place in your trophy case
with your other awards and conquests?

Are these love affairs not born
deeply in your person?
born of the calm
and the obsession?
Or the feverish ego and
the calculated interest
despite the seeming
spontaneity?