The Temple of the Star
III. Doubled Love Sonnet
I remember wanting everything
About her: eyes and skin and hair. . .
I wanted to own her soul. . . to sing
Her praises.  I would follow anywhere,
Provided I was at her heels.  That
Was how I learned to love; how I grew
To love myself.  My soul gained heft, grew fat
As hers diminished.  And that was true
And good.  I only knew that I was strong
Enough for both of us.  For all of us.
And I wasn't ever, ever wrong,
For all that that was worth.  I just
Couldn't bear to learn, to understand
The difference between a lover and a friend.
How sad and trite that sounds.  It's not.
For what it's worth, we never quite forgot
What all those things might have meant.
Our friends have looked at us and claimed "The two
Of you would make a lovely couple."  The sentiment
Was hardly lost on us.  We smiled, shook our heads, and grew
A little closer after every word they said.
We have other lovers, twice as good as we
Would be.  That does little to change the red
Flush of heat when we speak over coffee,
But it does help preserve proprieties.
For that we're very grateful.  The sound
Of our voices might otherwise be apt to seize
Us. . . pull us down. . . and soak us till we drowned.