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aristophane's redux
by ralph david samuel
"Primeval man was round
Zeus said, I will cut them in two
. Now each is but the indenture
of a man, always looking for his other half
and the desire and pursuit
of the whole is called love." -- Aristophanes
in Platos Symposium, Jowett, Tr.
At first we played, and didnt see
our eyes exchange the secrets,
nor could we know our breezy words
carried unseen fertile seeds
that germinated silently,
spread tendrils so delicate
they grew through all my nerves,
before I knew the ache
of yearning to be whole, felt
your silent lips excite my every sense
except to hear. That one
you overwhelmed with sighs
as we entered life conjoined;
one self we breathed, until we
barely felt what we had lost: those days
of half-full hours lived half apart.
[]
(c) by Ralph David Samuel, 2002, all rights
reserved.
email: ralphsamuel@ralphsamuel.com
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