sleepwalking

in the dream your eyes 

were wider than usual

as I leant in to kiss you

my first move of intimacy

your body tensing

in delicious surprise

but it was a friendly embrace

the arab style on the cheeks

right, left, right

but I wasn’t sure of your

individual pattern

so grasping my arm

you showed me

yet it wasn’t like I remembered

from my Libyan relatives

I counted each repetition

til we reached around ten

my mind wild

each reluctant to let go

when we eventually parted

you releasing my arm

we were breathless

your eyes were no long uncertain

so when daylight came

and the dream departed

I forgot it had been imagined

and yearned to re-enact it again

I let my hair down

for the first time around you

and as I passed

you seemed to begin 

to see me in a different light

your eyes wide again

later after caressing my guitar

my voice trembling with desire

they retained their gaze

and I felt lucky 

to have them turned on me

your smile sweet

just as I had planned

foolish

I dream for things 

which cannot be

scouring you for hopeless

desperate signs

which do not exist

but only in my mind

the nights grow ever colder

spring distant, dreamy

and we both feel it

intensely, right down to our bones