Inhaling Her

By Cordell Rich

I thought of you this weekend
my mind turns to you
as naturally as a smooth stone
must fall to the earth
because of that
I spend half of my life here
and half of my life in a dream
for so long I’ve not tasted
what I had eaten
or seen where I had been
because my life drifts along
and my thoughts
are consumed with you
then this week
I found a beautiful ripe pear
and I stood at the sink
thinking I was prepared to eat
and as I held it to my mouth
I could smell its fragrance
I grew excited knowing
what I was about to experience
as I bit into the flesh
there was just a moment of resistance
from its smooth skin
before it gave way to my teeth
the next moment
I could feel the juices
running into the whiskers on my chin
and down my neck
then for a brief time
it seemed
that I had tried to take
too much of the fruit at once
my senses were overwhelmed
and as I pulled
the mouthful of fruit
away from its body
the juices covered my chin and neck again
and continued down to my chest
but in the end it was very satisfying
at the moment I enjoyed
that first tender bite
I thought of how satisfied I was
for that brief instant
and I thought of you