“Just a Little”

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Waiting for the plane to taxi down,

          I remember the first time, the beating of her heart ,

Increase of the engine’s sound,

          In rhythm with mine, part by part,

Speeding on the runway of my trip,

          Her eyes searching mine,

Feeling the ground slip,

          Even more so this time,

Soaring into the clouds,

          “I’ve missed you,” I thought,

Above the Sierras, tall and proud,

          “All along it’s you I sought,”

Above patch-work farms of green and brown,

          Somehow I could see her brown hair,

Lakes of silent blue and beds of salt,

           As the wind found her standing there,

Red cliffs and canyons, a seismic fault,

          Her blue blouse, her lean frame,

The swaying of the plane does not bother,

          The way she whispered my name,

Any readers, sleepers, or noisy others,

          The wisps of hair about her face,

Trim stewardesses hovering nearby,

          With kisses I’ll put the wisps in their place,

Still calming those who were afraid to fly,

          Right in the middle of a crowd,

The pilot explaining the next sight,

          I’ll crush her against me, so proud,

After Lake Powell, Grand Canyon to the right,

          Feeling her against me so completely melt,

People straining eagerly to see,

          Her warmth, her softness, dizzyingly felt,

The vast dry land, rocks but no trees,

          “I want you.  It’s you I need,”

Very little turbulence above the rain,

           She could feel my hunger, knew my greed,

A white blanket of clouds beneath the plane,

          She pushes away, “We need to talk,”

Nothing to see so passengers try to sleep,

          I’m stunned by her words. She begins to walk,

With memories of lovers and places to keep,

          “While you were gone I’ve thought this out,”

Ears popping as pressures equalize,

          “I want you to love me, without any doubt,”

We’re on a downward slope before I realize,

          “I don’t want this to be a case of lust,”

“Please fasten your belts. We’re ready to descend,”

          “I want you forever, your love and your trust,”

The wings shimmy and shake again,

          “I want me in your heart, the way I hold you,”

The thump of wheels touching is all it takes,

          “Even when I’m unloveable, I want you to be true,”

Slowing down quickly, the grinding of brakes,

          Her words exploding in my heart and mind,

Finally I’m to the ramp where I disembark,

          There could never be anyone else that I could find,

And stumble off smiling into the dark,

          “She loves me,” I know, “she reminds me each day,”

I find my car and homeward race,

          Without reservation her love is on display,

          She’s waiting for me, dressed in black lace,

          “Shhhhh,” she whispers, “the kids are asleep,”

          “I want them to sleep, long and deep,”

For eight years it’s been like this,

Romance is part of our marital bliss,

And though my work takes me far and wide,

She’s always with me deep inside,

She’s a wonderful mystery, a constant riddle,

Do I love her? My manly pride answers, “Just a little.”

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