The Four Women I Loved

I danced with Fire

on sand;

she did not kiss

but set my heart aflame.

At nightfall, she came close to warm me,

only to vanish before dawn,

unable to bear a light

greater than her own.

Then Air came,

lifting me to heaven

beyond my horizons,

all the way to the clear sky of her eyes.

But when the wind changed,

she flew away,

stranding me in Autumn,

a time for leaves and dreams to fall.

With Water, instead,

I tirelessly swam

in seas that were blue and warm,

and others dark, bottomless, and cold.

But from the river to the ocean,

the way is too long;

my breath failed me,

and I swam no more.

Thus I met Earth.

She thinks long before she speaks,

but when she does,

her words go straight to my heart.

I love her embrace:

she envelops me from head to toe

and mercifully closes my eyes,

promising endless dreams

as I rest my head on her breast.

by Jason R. Forbus