THE COST

 
I linger in my bed, lying across the ruffled cover
Old memories surface, as I try desperately to recover.
Ghosts from my past, fill up my muffled mind
How they've been, have the years been kind?

As I close my eyes, their faces will soon appear
They will slide past swiftly, year after year.
Dozen of men, some young and some old
But, each were important, if truth will be told.

Their scents, their bodies, their voices and souls
All imprinted in me, filled up my empty holes.
At a time in my life, they shared them with me
Themselves and their bodies, we both were free.

Each remembered, regarded and even respected
All were different, some were not quite what expected.
Lots of lust and desire, sometimes even love and hurt
Feelings that came and went with a lift of my shirt.

As you lay beside me, our bodies will meld and entwine
Those memories fade through the passage of time.
Your scent, voice, body and soul will fill me now
It displaces all the others, not quite sure yet how.

But, you're completing me and squalshing my fears
You've been my everything throughout the last 42 years.
Though displacing the others, their memory is not lost
They brought us always back to each other, that's the cost.