Desire Triptych, Part 2: Fire

The dormant need to be desired

can lie purring and still for long stretches.

But then.

Something

someone

will slip through a crack

into the place inside

where desire used to scorch the walls of you -

a dragon in its lair, sleeping beneath piles of gold

in the shape of contentment,

affection,

satisfaction,

commitment...

and you'll feel a spark, 
taste smoke at the back of your throat.

You'll suddenly want

(with a sharpness that surprises you),

and you'll lean into it,

willing the object of your desire

to desire you.

You’ll revel in the fire of it,

The way it burns through you,

But then,

you'll let go,

forgetting again what it is like

to have every cell filled

with anticipation and preoccupation;

to be saturated with lust 
and blind, panting need.

You'll turn away from the dragon,

relieved to settle back into the wholesome wholeness of your life.

But then...

you'll catch yourself daydreaming about touching, tasting...

and in a panic, you'll shift your focus to something else,

evading Desire, for now.

You'll find your inner calm,

your zen,

your drive.

You'll channel all that unspent energy into self-mastery.
You'll think you've outgrown the grasp of desire,
as you smoothly move along the track of your life,
until the next time the embers begin to glow under your skin.