What One Poem Can Lead To

I have this dream where I hand

a beautiful woman one of my poems

and she begins to undress on the spot.

We're in a coffee shop and I plead with her,

"Please, not here."

But she answers with,

"You showed me the poem here didn't you."

She has a point.

So I begin undressing as well.

The people at the other tables

don't seem to notice.

Four co-eds are like discussing

like everything that like

happened to them today.

A young guy,

in a tattered jacket,

and a scarf swirling around his throat,

is head down in a Spanish translation

of "Crime And Punishment."

Two gallery owners

blame it all on Matisse.

Three engineering students share formulas.

Two aging gays hold hands.

So we make love on the table

amid the muffin crumbs and Java stains

and then, when we're done,

we put our clothes back on,

and I ask her,

"Can I get you anything?"

She says, "Yes, do you have a poem

where the woman doesn't fake her orgasm

and the guy means everything he says to her."

I tell her,

"A poem, no.

A dream, yes."

--John Grey