I Was, You Were							

I was a stalwart fishing pier, jutting into tranquil sea;
you were a fractious ocean storm, roiling over me,
salty as a pickling brine but twice as savory.

I was a hulking backyard fire burning up debris;
you were Santa Ana wind of great intensity,
caught my embers in your breath, suddenly I'm free.

I was a parch-lipped desert as far as eyes could see;
you were twice as prickly as an ancient baobab tree,
your thistles whistling in the air, sounding coquetry.

I was a scabrous parasite on the backside of a flea;
you treated me with due respect and strained sobriety,
scratched me off a window sill with grace and bon-homie.

I was an un-mailed letter; you were my addressee.
I was marked as postage due; you were always duty free,
sending me in triplicate, but only in facsimile.

I was a bee who blithely bumbled, in wrath and rhapsody.
I was Tweedle-dumdum; you were Tweedle-dee,
who wrapped me in your knickers, took me home for tea.


(First published in Abstract: Contemporary Expressions - 2020)