MARYA, THE BOOKSTORE MUSE

"Hesitation equals
Hell," she muses.
"If in doubt, always
grab, then you have
what you did not have."

And with a sway,
she bows her
cleavage, the tease,
this baffling
emissary of
flirtatious
genuflections I have
christened "Marya."

How it pleases her
when I turn from
a shelf in sudden
golden dreams and
inner riches,
or join
her footsteps
in a spin toward
some hidden Grail!

Down the aisles
she is like my
searching shadow
trailing, whispering
in my ear, "Take your
time. I can wait.
I will always wait for
your kisses,
my embattled lover."