Romantic couple embracing, touching and kissing with passion on a ledge dressed up and in b/w

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “O” – Out They Go

The following is the next segment of "A Love Affair, From A to Z."
To start at the beginning of the poem, click here.
A LOVE AFFAIR, FROM A TO Z
by
Jade A. Waters

Out they go, a night to escape
Playing on the town
Like their lives, they
Depend on every second of this evening.
They laugh over dinner,
Drive with the stereo loud,
The moon roof open as they
Point at the stars
Like old times
Before he grabs her hand and takes her dancing,
Both of them close, giggling
Grinding
And intoxicated,
Running from the problem,
The catch in what they share,
Spinning around and around on the dance floor
With hands creeping along each other’s sides.
“I love you so much,” she says.
“And I love you, too.”
He means it, this she knows
And she will dance here with him
Pressed tight
Tighter
As close as they can be
For as long as it takes to forget
For now.

To read "P" — Perfect, click here.
B/w image of passionate couple making love in bed

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “N” – Need

The following is the next segment of "A Love Affair, From A to Z."
To start at the beginning of the poem, click here.
A LOVE AFFAIR, FROM A TO Z
by
Jade A. Waters

Need is filling her up—
The need to be with him, to go there,
To grasp this
In the way they both whisper about
But can’t quite reach;
Not as it is.
It stirs up a longing in her so heavy
She is anxious about the end, the complications
Whether it’s going to work.
He sees this and strokes her neck, cuddles her closer
Gently blows in her ear.
“Why are you such a pessimist?”
She's never been that, never in her life
And when she meets his eyes, he nods.
“You are. With us, you are.”
She doesn’t want to be,
She wants it to be everything
This love between them,
But she can't quite figure out how to fit the pieces of
This puzzle
Together.
When he distracts her with kisses trailed up the side of her neck
He says, “Do this with me. Be here with me.”
So she decides to listen, to feel him,
To get further lost in this forest
Despite its looming density.

To read "O" — Out They Go, click here.
Close-up portrait of kissing couple in shadow

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “B” – Beautiful

The following is the next segment of "A Love Affair, From A to Z."
To start at the beginning of the poem, click here.
A LOVE AFFAIR, FROM A TO Z
by
Jade A. Waters

Beautiful is how she sees it
How she's known this, him
The silent love they've shared
Is the perfect bar crawl
On the longest evening
Repeated, over and over again.
The laugh that echoes between them
Is the song for all they have yet to say,
So when they begin to crash together
To melt, colliding
Into this love like they'd always known they would,
His lips on hers are honey
His breath in her ear like a rainstorm
Prickling her skin, teasing her lashes
Wrapping her up in the sanctity of what they will be.
His palms slip along the flesh of her back
Her neck, her hips, her thighs
And she is naked now, finally, for him.

To read "C" — Cascading, click here.
B/W image of man's hand sliding along woman's almost exposed chest; Katarzyna Białasiewicz ©123RF.com

In This Bar

IN THIS BAR
by
Jade A. Waters

I sit in this bar wondering
Waiting
Hoping
Will it be you
Will it be us
Is the answer as simple as you and me
Me and you
And the lifetime of lust between us
I keep asking
You keep answering
It's a miracle we've gotten anywhere
Nowhere
Why do I love you like this
Knowing you are you
And I am me
And we could never ever be
But I guess that's life, really
You do you
I do me
Something that was meant to be
Never ever was
I don't know the answer
And so I drink one more drink
And tipsy I watch you
Handsome
Knowing me
And that's about it.

*

B/W image of woman with knees tucked into chest, longing; Belikova ©123RF.com

Not a Love Poem

NOT A LOVE POEM
by
Jade A. Waters

I could write love poems about us for a lifetime
How it could have been
Would have been
If only it had played out differently,
How we’ve pretended all this time,
It isn't there between us.
We are too busy smiling,
Laughing
Playing games like two old pals
Who dance around that past, that night
That choice
Even if we both know it was the right one.

The problem is, right isn't always easy
That's why it’s here sometimes—
A fount of heat, a life of love
The secret burning in your eyes
Even though you know, I know,
We know
Not to play that part.
That love is gone, forsaken
A distant memory of a long ago past
The answer to a question
We cannot ask
Again.

So, here we are, playing a new game
Turning around the right answer
The good answer
The one that lets us pretend
We are blind to this
For yet another day
That we were never meant to be
A love poem—
Just the ghost of words left on the page
For a lifetime
Of love poems past.

*

Sexy back of a woman

What You See

WHAT YOU SEE
by
Jade A. Waters

There is a girl
Beautiful, broken, bruised, smiling
She is all of these things
She’s got a history
You can never fathom
Though you try.
She’s moved mountains
Swum oceans
Run miles
Through thorns and rocky terrain
That
From the looks of her
You’d never imagine she could have faced.
What you see
When you look at her
Is the beautiful
And the smiling;
You don’t see the black and blue
That’s forever imprinted on her soul
You don’t see the scars
On her heart
Or all the battles she’s won.
You only see the beauty, the afterglow
The radiance she’s worked so hard to keep
Despite the scratches running the length
Of each of her veins
Marring her for an eternity.
She doesn’t flash them often—
She doesn’t need to, doesn’t want to
Because she’s earned these smiles
She’s stolen back this beautiful heart
She’s claimed a lifetime of looking forward
After what was.
But sometimes, when you look at her,
You tell her what you see
Like it’s all there is
And anything she could share with you
Is trivial and mundane,
Petty figments of her imagination
That couldn’t possibly be
Because how could a girl
Who looks like this
Have experienced that?

I hear you
I really do
It’s hard to believe something that ugly
So many things that ugly
Could have happened to one single soul,
But the truth of the matter is
They have.
So
Before you tell me it can’t be that bad
Tell me I’m lovely and happy
I’m lucky
And so it could never have happened
That way
For me,
I want you to look at me
Really look at me,
See the beauty, sure, but see the bruises
And the marks deep inside, too
Please.
I ask of you.
I’ve earned them
I’ve fought through them
They are who I am, part of me, always me
My right to feel and have
Not whatever it is you keep telling me
That you see.
That?
She’s a different girl
Who isn’t
And never was
Me.

*

Neon xxx sign

You Write Erotica

YOU WRITE EROTICA
by
Jade A. Waters

I write erotica, she said
And you could see him practically
Come himself
Really?
Yes, yes I do
Perhaps she shouldn’t have shared this
But when he asked her what she wrote
It seemed the next logical phrase

It was true after all

So like, you write about sex
Yes, I do
Like porn
No, not like porn
Like eloquent porn
With some of the raunch
But more generous in the art department

I see, he said
Adjusting his pants
And trying to hide the subtle turn
Of his lips at the corner
So you write pretty, raunchy, and clever porn
When she smiled
He grabbed her hand

I wouldn’t normally do this
And you can say no if you want
He said, leaning back on his heel
But if I didn’t have a girlfriend, I have to say
I’d totally ask you out

She stepped back herself
A little put off
And wondering if maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned the erotica
But he continued
I could always use more friends, though
Would you like to be friends?

He squeezed her hand
Running a finger along the inside of her palm
And she glanced at it as his words grew quieter
Maybe I can help you
With some inspiration?

*