On the Hudson

wrapped me up in brown black eyes,
we let the sun warm us.
gazed until I looked away
and lifted gold strands away from my cheeks.
traced my brow, jaw, ear with fingertips
and asked if I knew how beautiful I was.
I suppose I didn't because I don't recall
ever looking at myself that way.
we were by the water and the sun
left its silver white trail
on the waves.
we were by the water and we talked
about where we were going this summer.
me to europe,
him to senegal and zimbabwe.
both alone.
we were by the water and I said that
I would always need to find water to sit by.
dinner was oxtail, rice and beans,
and dessert was strawberries and blackberries
from the farmer's market.
there are a million faces in this city.
every one has their story and today I was young.
innocent in ways he hadn't been in years and
aware of things he might never be.
we didn't need to talk about forever
or tomorrow.
it's summer time and I've given up on love.
I don't want cheap substitutes,
but that doesn't mean
I'm turning down dinner by the river either.
I let myself be wrapped up
in brown, got lost in black
berry stained fingers.
we let the sun warm us.