Full-Bodied Red
A poem by Julia R. DeStefano
“Love is the greatest refreshment in life.” ~Pablo Picasso
Full-Bodied Red
We’re walking along on a clear night.
“Take off your sandals,” he tells me.
Something about readying me for the sand.
My laughter ricochets.
We’re like fireflies flashing mating signals
and seeing what sticks.
So many people never find love.
They just pretend.
I like a good, full-bodied red.
Truth serum for the evenings we howl
someplace on the moon.
Where I hear my voice saying words
never spoken in a distant youth.
Because I’ve been a late-bloomer in ways of love
that didn’t involve pen to paper.
I think it had to happen that way.
I have him open-mouthed
like the ocean stretched out before us.
I have his dream in mine.
I’ve started to forget about wasted time.
Hunger and the senses
and unknowns come to light.
Beyond my shoulders,
the straps of my dress
neither of us cares to fix.
Maybe overseas, he’d ask me to dance like this.
One for his Rose.
A toast to the magic we make
that will last forever if we want it to.
We both know the oracle cards,
like my hips,
don’t lie.
© Julia R. DeStefano
