In Sight

Psyche is in love with love he comes to her only at night

She is in love with the body of love she has never seen his face

In the dark she opens and love spills over and after a lovely while
         it is not enough

She is after all mortal and needs to see

It was not suspicion but the need to see that spilled the searing drop of oil
         on the body of her love

Seared he sees her seeing and he flies up and leaves

Wide-eyed and weeping she lies on the wild-leaved grass which the wind
         blows flat and silver flat and silver

She sees the tiny serrated edges little sharpnesses scoring the body of the day

She sees a large emptiness taut like the skin of water

She sees the empty frame of her desire and the black spot on that perfect body

She sees she has a long way to go she rises and goes

Her grief is her long solace her steps are long her eyes long to see his light

Her every step sounds like this so dark so dark

One foot after the other on the glancing grass

Sidney Wade
Copyright © 2001
Reprinted by permission of the author from Green

Sidney Wade teaches in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Florida. She has published three collections of poetry: Green, From Istanbul/Istanbul dan, and Empty Sleeves.

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