Tonight, as I lie in my bed,

bathed in the light of a lunar eclipse,

I feel your presence from across the miles.

My hands reach out to caress a body

that I have never held in my arms.

I catch a faint scent of perfume

from illusionary hair brushing softly against my chest.

I feel your warm breath as it caresses my face,

or is it the summer breezes blowing in through the window?

If I turn my head jus so, the trilling of crickets

becomes your voice, gently, sweetly singing my name.

Your lips come closer to mine, and my heart races.

I let reality and imagination meld together

as your shadow form merges with my true self,

and as we touch, I look into your eyes

and I realize it's all for nothing.

The trance is broken; your image falls from my sight.

I raise the blinds to view the eclipse,

and as I watch the blood-red crescent diminish,

I hope in vain that you're thinking about me,

that you're reaching out for my shadow form.

NOTES: This was inspired by a lunar eclipse that happened in June 1992. I was writing a letter to a friend and listening to my new Tori Amos tape, and the music seemed to fit well with the eclipse happening just outside my home. A few months later, while lying in bed with a bad case of insomnia and Tori playing on my headphones, I was inspired to write this poem.

A lot of people have told me it's their favorite in my repertoire. That's cool. To be honest, it's one of my favorites, too.