Do you remember the night
We walked through town
Starry night
Romantic
Dreamy night
Mystery whispering in our ears
As we walked past
Medieval buildings of stone
And chiseled faces of statues
Looking at us across centuries

I desperately wanted to touch you
To take you into my arms
As we neared the river

And walked across the bridge
But we couldn’t speak to each other
Not really
Not fully
So we gestured
And
Spoke broken phrases
But mostly
We walked in silence

If I could have spoken to you
I would have told you
That I wanted to feel your belly
Moving against mine
I would have told you
That I wanted to hear you
Call out in the night
In a language
I don’t understand
I would have told you
That I wanted to feel your hips
Speaking passions beyond words
Along the moonlit banks of the river
Where young lovers come together
To roll in the grass

I wish I would have touched you
I wish we would have held each other
I think you knew this
As I watched you walk away
After we parted
On the other side of the river
That divides
So many things

Now that a year has passed
And I am back in my own country
I still think of that night
When I’m out walking
By the river where I live
I hear your heels clopping
Along the cobblestone
In the humid summer air
I see your silhouette
Standing by the fountain
As I look up at the stars
I wonder where you are
And as I watch the water flow by
I wonder if you think about that night too

My heart is happy
For the moment we shared
And yet
Sad at the same time
Because I know now
We will never have
That moment again

That night stays with me
No matter how hard I try
I can’t forget
The softness of your belly
The smell of your perfume
The desire in your eyes

I still find myself
Wanting to reach for you
To take you into my arms
And never let you go.

(c) Copyright 2016 Robert Strzalko