it’s OK
that you are mesmerized by those full breasts
and want to stroke those smooth legs
and to taste those sweet lips.
However, none of it will satisfy you.
Do not be surprised that one day
you will wake up and see
that those breasts are already sagging
and those legs are a little rough and hairy
and those lips have the taste of ashes of a funeral pyre.
It’s OK.
It’s exactly what is supposed to be.
‘Why?’ you wail.
Because the body is not what you want.
It is only a corpse
that you have made alive
with ghostly images of the past,
of what your parents,
elders and peers,
and all those advertisements,
movies and books,
have created in your mind
of where love you’ll find.
The veil is simply lifting.
It is time to wake up
and see beyond the meat;
beyond the shifting images.
And see the Beloved,
Who is Beauty Eternal,
waiting with open arms.
Do you think those breasts
you grab at are wondrous?
Just wait until you dive into the Beloved!
Janaka Stagnaro 2003
janakastagnaro.com