“How Often” by Rudy Thomas

How often I dream of you
& in those dreams how often
I take you in my arms.

How often I embrace you
& kiss you. I sleep recalling how often
I walk with you past houses & farms.

How often I dream we lie down together
by the lake beneath stars—how often—
in them a whip-poor-will sings in the dark.

How often I wake alone, wondering whether
I should let you go to him. How often
I imagine you are a housedog. Your bark,

how often, I take to be a call out to me
& I drift to sleep again to wake. How often
I toss hopelessly seeking romance.

How often I have tried to rescue me
from the power I have given you. How often
I have succumbed to your seductive glance.

How often I return to love when you let me
lightly touch your hips or better, how often,
when we hug I feel your breasts

pressed
tight against
my chest.

-Rudy Thomas

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