Three

Instead of “You told a spectacular story tonight,” why not:

You took off your dress,
slipped your shoulders and arms
out of the sleeves
and let it fall to the floor.
You were more than naked underneath
You were an ocean into which
I dove
Salt water trickling down my throat
The essence of you swallowed
into my being
You were a sea bird
with graceful wings
lifting you over the water
No land in sight
Alone in the vastness
Yet at one with the mystery
The water
The flight
The sky
The horizon
The distant shore
The floor where your dress fell.
I saw through you then
But I was born too late to touch you