YOU DO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS

You do know what love is
even though you are unable to find
the words to say what you must feel.

Ever since I was entranced
by your Pocahontas Princess pigtail,
being part Iroquois myself, I was smitten.
Every part of you is sweet and stunning,
from your quivering hourglass shape
to your delicate fingers and dainty feet.

Your scent of musk and ambrosia intoxicates
all men, beguiled by your beatific smile
and eyes so alive, they glow like the morning star.

As we scramble up the Algonquin trail I love
the way you move your body and use your hands,
always chatting in charming non-sequiturs.

You dazzle me with kindness, flooding me
with a deluge of tenderness like the overflowing Nile.
Watching you, holding you asleep, I’m not lonely anymore.
Your gentle touch says more than words can ever say,
our bodies entwined, fitting together seamlessly
like a steeplechase jockey on his jumping-horse.

Silently our souls melt, there is no you
or me; in the morning fleckless light I gaze
at you and see someone prettier than Nefertiti.

We’ve tumbled down every hill like Jack and Jill; every joy
I’ve ever known has come because of you, a flower in winter
without thorns, walking by my side through the labyrinth of love.

Though we’ll tarry not for long upon this earth,

if you should stumble I will cover you with ravenous kisses
and gladly be a sponge absorbing all your pain.
When we leave this black world of endless woe and wrangle
we’ll keep the barbarians at bay, remaining bound together
for as long as eternity endures.

Milton P. Ehrlich