naked is good

when we met
you were the only woman
and I the only man
we were naked
and it was good
we had no life stories
to selectively share
no parental baggage to unpack
no one else to woo
no need to undress
for we were naked
and we were good
we named every creature
each bird and fish
we made up words
for florae and faunae
and never thought
to nail down
the concept of shame
there simply was
no shadow to our light
just bare, mere nakedness
and it was so very good

we forgot, over time,
over lifetimes
over generations
how to tell this story
we misdescribed
substituting key words—
paradise for garden
perfect for good—
we focused on the fall
not the heights
from which we began
we tripped over
the brown, rotting
halfeaten core
and lost sight
of the gleaming fruit
of a forest of good trees
we got lost
in the furious fashion
of covering over
of hiding
of subterfuge
we spent our life savings
our birthright
on a cheap suit
on illfitting clothes
we learned
how hard it is
to woo
through all those layers
all that padding

now we will only undress
in darkness
or alone
longing to be better
to be good
to be naked again
and without shame

September 2008

annie

I held Annie as she last went to sleep
and I think that was the right thing
it happened quite fast
faster than I had time
to feel about it
only a week before
she was personable
and we held her front paws
and made her dance
in a way we knew embarrassed her
our way of testing her seriousness
(ya-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-tahhhh-HEY!)
then we awoke one Saturday
and she was this frail
greasy unkempt thing
that she never would have let herself be
if she was truly herself
and the fact of her demise just showed up
Carol wept in advance, stroking her sorrowfully
Ella wept fearfully at her mother’s sudden tears
knowing this duty fell to me
I drove her alone, and on the way
I recounted stories she was probably too sick to hear
I joked halfheartedly and my heart sank
the kind old doctor confirmed it:
she was toxically ill
at least the decision was made for me
how strange that we accept
such a fate as being humane
one we so hesitate to visit upon humans
but for my Annie
my beautiful, black little girl
the amber glow fading from her eyes
it was fast and right and final
outside, in the car
I wept until I shook
until I could grasp the wheel
and drove home in a knowing rainshower

September 2008