a sleek spacecraft
hurtling through space,
you found me
unexpectedly,
hidden on a small planet behind a star
this finding not wanted by either
no rediscovering of what we had
both been fleeing
yet, between us--you in your hovering spacecraft,
me on my silent world
a fire was lit
no, our hearts protested
no more encroaching,
promises spoken, then broken
we had been very good at our hiding
until then.
but if there are truly no accidents
in this divinity-driven cosmos
we must have actually been searching
for what we though we no longer wanted to find
warily, encircling, then bolder we grew,
scottie beaming me up daily
to share your cramped ship.
'you know...' i murmered
no more need be spoken
'and you know...' you replied
kissing the tip of my nose, my hand,
the curve of my hip
you thawed my heart
broke loose the barrier of ice
frozen there for so long,
as i did the same with yours
defenseless at last,
we merged, besotted.
defenseless against the other
starved
scottie was kept busy those long days
with our comings and goings
i could have worshiped your body forever,
died for your kiss
one day a change came
was it the solar winds?
a meteor striking a planet nearby?
you pulled back
began to withdraw
'my ship is beginning to drift out of orbit', you said.
'scottie has quit his day job.
i must return for repairs.
this ship was never meant for this kind of activity anyway'
the next day you were gone
darkness set in.
i amused myself by gathering stardust,
grabbed the edge of the Milky Way
and floated,
planted a flower,
danced through the forest
after a long while i renewed
at peace once more with my aloneness
but your ship reappeared on my horizon
slower, more subdued in its approach
'don't read anything into this' you said
'i won't,' i said
'don't think this means that i will love you again,' you added.
'i won't.' i replied and stretched one hand high up
to meet yours
after that, you visited from time to time
speaking of wars on other planets
politics....
you had armed your ship with lazers, you told me
in case of interplanatary war
you never spoke of us
sometimes you brought fruit from a dying planet
or a iridescent stone for luck
no words of love
or hidden passions
scottie had permanently deserted his post
after a while i realized
we had reached a different road in these visits,
one perhaps not as exciting as the first
but a road much easier in its traveling
we had become friends
companions
bringing each to the other a much-needed place of warmth
a haven,
a buffer, against the long cold nights
Pris Campbell
Copyright 10/13/2000
Painting: Escort Service bySlawek Wojtowicz
Music: Somewhere in time
This poem will be included in an upcoming book of Slawek's art . When the book is published I'll place more details here. Thank you, Slawek , for including me!