So Our Bodies Change

Our bodies change, even if all longing remains, its chorus always the same:
To see and be seen,
To be revealed, and stand without fear
That is all there has been and ever will—
That one sound and strain, in endless refrain
A train that never finds its station

But our bodies cannot withstand the pain of so much longing
The notes flail in their tired frames
So young love cannot remain

But take heart:
If young men did not tire, they would aspire to every prize, with violence in their eyes;
It's a gift that old age teaches humility and lends civility—
When we rightly see our place in things
Our bodies may go, while the earth remains,
And we stay sane

It is all a bridle and bit, when no other work would fit, for the education of the soul
And the body which once longed endlessly for unending eros
Learns contentedness in simple hand-holds

Wedded bliss does not need remain a smoking fire
But makes its way into something new—
A slow-rising Phoenix climbing up newborn cliffs
As its fire sets it free
In pure desire

Bodies will still unite and fly
Searching for that ecstasy that only being seen can bring
But it's something more subtle that fills them now—

This quiet contemplation of the moon before midnight, like
A fish coming into shore
An ocean waiting for the night
A horizon looking for first light
A raven planning the next flight