stars, stares, and stairs in stuttgart

we race up the stairs
sandals clicking on the tile
laughing all the while

you turn around and shush me -
"don't wake up the neighbors!"

i pretend to be silent

and then break into drunken laughter.
a dirty look is lost on a pretty girl

at the top of the stairs
break through your door
grab the wine: lighter: cigarettes.
leave the ice cream in the freezer

i wander amongst artifacts from foreign lands
and wonder who you are

more stairs, this time spiral
round and round to the roof

view the city of my ancestors from my perch
and wonder what they'd say if they could see me now
sitting high in their homeland
red wine in hand and red sunrise in view

we talk about anything to make us laugh
pretend we'll fall in love
stare at the stars, blinking with the city lights
and drink it in

something new and unexpected hovers tentatively
over a city, aged and dingy

the sun rises
and round and round we descend

slip softly into sheets of tan
between strong arms and pressing lust
drifting to sleep in the morning
of a foreign land

stuttgart

i lean on the rail
and take a deep inhale
wondering all the while
how exactly my whole body can smile.
i take a sip of my wine
and into your arms recline.
we look over the horizon
as faintly the skyline is lit by the sun.
this new adventure and foreign place
have led to comfort in a beautiful new face.
i lean into you and you into me
and i savor the joy of being free.
the city is silent: only flashing lights
and birds in their predawn flight.
i close my eyes to make is last
because i've come to know that pleasure is fast.
it's unexpected and surreal
and is gone before you've even had time to feel
exactly how amazing one moment can be.
i hope you know how often i replay that memory.
that quiet moment on top of stuttgart
will always hold a place in my heart.