Poetry Hour

[greenstorm]

THE OASIS
-Naomi Replansky-


I thought I held a fruit cupped in my hand.
Its sweetness burst
And loosed its juice. After long traveling,
After so long a thirst,
I asked myself: Is this a drought-born dream?
It was no dream.

I thought I slipped into a hidden room
Out of harsh light.
In cushioned dark, among rich furnishings,
There I restored my sight.
Such luxury could never be for me!
It was for me.

I thought I touched a mind that fitted mine
As bodies fit,
Angle to curve; and my mind throbbed to feel
The pulsing of that wit.
This comes too late, I said. It can’t be true!
But it was true.

I thought the desert ended, and I felt
The fountains leap.
Then gratitude could answer gratitude
Till sleep entwined with sleep. Despair once cried: No passion’s left inside!
It lied. It lied.