Now I Must Recall Poem by RIC BASTASA

now i must recall
because i am no longer afraid of my own shadow

it was about the door
that was not locked and without knocking
you opened it

there were no black clouds
only the white sheen of light coming from my body
i was naked and you saw it
it may not have been so good to you
not as beautiful as you perceived me
when i was fully clothed
by the sun

it was a shame you said once
i wanted to forget that and bury it like dung
you never spoke a word
but i know that you have seen it

it was my fault
but now i think i should not be ashamed
about some slips of my flesh
squirting bubbles into the air of our prisons
fluids rushing like unexpected rain

one dark night
the moon bleeds a dim light

it was as though i were the finch perched on a lonely branch
when all the leaves have fallen

bluntly, i must tell you
if you must remember
now that i have the courage to hold my own hips
it was not a shame
because it was the truth about my being

did we not tell ourselves
that one thing about the truth is that it is beautiful?