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