She said: Say to me something sweet, kind, and irresistibly seductive. And I replied: If I were holding your hand right now between  my hands I feel I am reborn and I feel my body slipping, sliding, sliding downward into your body--a fire beginning to burn within me like the light of dawn penetrating down among a forest's shadows, burning them away, turning them into pure light.   More? she asked. And I replied: And as I caress your belly, your soft belly my palm drifting over your skin, I sail as a bird upon the wind, searching across the oceans of your soul for new islands to call my home. And when I put my tongue in your navel--I taste with my mouth  one of the twelve fruits of the Tree of Life (which is for the healing of the nations), and this fruit, as I turn my tongue to and fro, is a red pomegranate. But its taste is of a peach and the taste is of springtime--with fresh waters flowing from mountain snow--Icy winter dissolving as I lick your navel, my mind turning and turning and turning here at the center of your being: I flow into you and dream of new beginnings. And as I place my hand on each side of your waist and I gently fold my hands downward over your hips--  I find myself in a dark forest at night, following the sound of one bird singing, singing to me of a dream I let fly away from me, escaping from my life to be free, but which now has returned, charmed by your beauty and by my touch upon your hips in this night of quiet ecstasy. And as I kiss your hand, my tongue reaching down into your palm,  I glide with the wings of a dove down into a valley-- and I take within my hands a bunch of grapes from a vine, a vineyard which grows not far from the sea, and not far from a place of ecstasy, a place where the human heart has learned to be free. I linger here lost in your charms, enfolded by your touch. I am caught, unable to leave. Even if you offered me the keys, I could not unlock these gates which bind my soul nor forego the tears which hold me here.And as I kiss your upper arms, pausing, moving slowly downward, my touch a feather from a bird lit with golden light and a rainbow crown,  I feel your body rising beneath me, and I see your smile--the sight of sunlight on the horizon at dawn, your two hands drawing me to you to kiss your lips and we do kiss and at that touch, like a cloudburst in a thunderstorm, a wilderness of passions about me whirl in a dark grey world where all that now exists is the touch of your lips, and lingering here with another kiss, the storm is gone, and I walk among fields of golden and amber hues, and I whisper your name calling out to you: I love you

And the mountains in the distance And the waters in the ocean depths And the trees in the forest hear this whisper And the mountains sigh Wanting to stretch their bodies, To shift their bulk and release their tension, And the ocean shiver and dream of turning into clouds Walking upon the air, And the trees, those who heard my whispered words --I love you-- their leaves turn upward and they reach out and try to embrace the sky. I love you. The Beloved: Her Reply My hand between yours And at dawn or sunset I am the high cirrus clouds Saffron, russet, vermilion, Cadmium red, carmine, rose, coral pink, Sailing upon a turquoise sea. Your hand on my belly And I am suspended, floating, Adrift on an ancient river of the soul While the touch of your tongue And the secret chamber at the center Of the subterranean labyrinth You set afire Your touch that discovers Memories I had hidden so well I thought they were gone forever. Your hands sliding down upon my hips: A birch, a yew, an oak, a pine, a cedar, Blindfolded I walk beside Led by a guardian of the forest To where I join with friends Who celebrate the night And both the sacred And the dark passage ways Leading us here. Your kiss on my palm: A lamb and its mother Calling out to each other Across a ravine, My body moves involuntarily A swirling A python's thigh uncoiling A sail unfurling in the rising wind My mind sinking down Muscles tightening, contracting, My breath is where The eagle hovers, gliding, Ascending and descending. Your kiss on my arm: The roots, the stem, the petals, The fragrance within Each separate part of the flower Feels the spark pass through it-- The ray the enchanter plays The dream in the eye of the sun Echoes and probes the depths Of my body and soul. And at our kiss A flash flood wild and dangerous Devouring one by one Calm moonlit pools Where serenity said I belong Yet I yield To the raging torrent, The surge, the uncharted power Which inflame the stars And seeks to bind your heart And mine as one forever. The Greater Love Which informs the universe In exquisite pain, In blissful torment, In terrible beauty, Cords rending the soul Sounds whose harmonics Create both light and darkness No mystical dervish this-- I whirl amid a creator's abyss Impaled by the lightning bolt In the night's sky, The womb in which The Image of the world Is born again and again, Your touch Is the sculptor's acid Annihilating the last barriers To my heart, My body absorbs these fires through every pour I seek you from the core of my being, I wrap you about, to scream, To rise higher. Wind blown foam from the crests of these waves Are tears in my eyes As the storm wind's fury Clasps me close to his breast But at the center Of the whirlwind Silent and still You and I remain the joining Round which the stars dance.