By Lisa Shields
Date: 23 December 1999

Touch Twice

The first time the touch happens
it's largely accidental---
a real miracle if it works,
and then after, you're expected to do it right
every time---
as if you knew what you were doing
in that crazy instant.

I want to touch you twice---
the first time can be the awe struck experiment,
but then I want an hour to trace your skin,
to touch your back, your arms, your neck
as if I were a blind woman
committing you to tactile memory.

I want to taste you
without the bitter aftertaste
of your day---your life---
when I am purely a wonder
to your senses, 
and the only drug you need.

I want to touch you first---
not just react to your touch,
I want to be the first one
to bite softly down
on a startled lip,
and capture your soft cry
with my tongue.

I want to touch your twice.
The first time, 
I didn't know what I was doing.
This time,
I want to know in my soul...