Oasis

In a jeweled place, far from the desert's heat,
My love and I lie still as we once lay,
Eyes closed, in the cool shade of the palm trees,
Sheltered by them from the heat of the day.
Not far away, the glittering water laps,
And the palm fronds with a singing wind sway.
	The oasis, oasis of peace!

Still her hand is on me, her head resting
As once on my shoulder she took her rest.
Still I ache with the intensity of my love,
Brighter than the sun that on us all day has pressed.
Still I touch with trembling, reverent hand
The slope of her flank, the dune of her breast.
	The oasis, the oasis of peace!

Still she stirs at the slight contact, and rolls
Over to gaze up at me with dream-glazed eyes.
Still her voice touches me, like a cool wind
That comes at noon to soothe the panting skies.
"You must be tired. Why are you not asleep?"
My hand, like a shadow, on her barely sighs.
	The oasis, the oasis of peace!

"How can I sleep when I see you here,
Beautiful as a thousand sleeps are, beside me?"
Her lids drop, shading her eyes as though
Her own sparkle she could not let me see,
As the palm fronds in some places bend down,
And drape the water in emerald secrecy.
	The oasis, the oasis of peace!

"But the night was not full of dreams- was it?"
And her eyes dart up at me; the wind a tune
Plays across my flesh as I remember the sports
We took it at turns to play at under the moon.
Yes; such games we enjoyed, it does seem strange
That I am not lying, as heat-dead, in a swoon.
	The oasis, the oasis of peace!

"Well, then," she says, eyes sparking playfully,
Leaning over me as though a cat at a kill,
"Let us see what we might do in the shade,
In the heat of the day, far from sand-hill,
Or the killing heat of the open desert."
And she leans down- oh, I can see her still!
	The oasis, the oasis of peace!

Such memories rushed through my mind;
Such memories subdued me with their flood,
As I gazed down at her body, by me slain,
Gut-wounded, lying bleeding in the mud.
Enemies were we- lovers for but a day-
But she is in my mind like a fire in the blood.
	The oasis, the oasis of peace!