Poem: Absence

[dougs.livejournal.com]

Once again, this is the result of a 5-minute challenge from loneraven.

Absence

In the absence of one I would normally love (far beyond the Pacific expanse),
When I dance with the nurses like hands in a glove -- Then my heart doesn't join in the dance.
If I'm closing my eyes when they're holding me tight, and I'm breathing the scent of their hair,
They imagine I'm dreaming of nursely delight, that I'm hoping they'll come to my lair.
Well, how little they know, and how little they guess, and how poor is their insight, and flawed,
For my eyelids, when closed, are to hide my distress, and the curls that I want are abroad.
For there once was a time when I danced in my tent, and the cheeks that he kissed were still dry,
And I thought that he knew just what hand-in-glove meant -- but he left without saying goodbye.