the gift

Now that I understand, I like to
Think of your terror–handed a girl
Mad with love, her long, fresh
Raw body thin as pared
Soap, breasts round and high and
Opalescent as bubbles of soap,
Laid across your legs, 18,
Untouched. I like to understand your
Terror, now, the way you took her
Deflowering her as you’d gut a fish,
Leaving in the morning with talk of a wife.
Now that I
Know about the fear of love
I like to think of her white-hot body
Greenish as a fish just landed, quivering and
Slapping on a rock–fallen into your
Lap, man, shuddering like your cock,
A woman crazed with love, hot off the
press, sharp as a tool never used,
Blazing across your thighs and all you could
Do in your fear was firk out her cherry like an
Escargot from its dark shell and then
Toss her away. I am in awe of the terror that will
Waste so much, I am in love with the girl who went
Offering, came to you and
Laid it out like a feast on a platter, the
Delicate flesh–yes, yes,
I accept the gift.

Sharon Olds