A Slow Seduction

Three weeks after the fact, the author comes to a conclusion.

I never expected a seduction

simply calculated

where gentle words and soft touches

left me reeling.

Shoulders, arms, gentle brushes,

fingers on a hip, hands clasped together

and words, looks, smiles…

continuous words and implied eye contact

horribly one-sided under the blockade of work,

not even an imaginary romance,

not even vaguely erotic

even when once challenged…

I realized it was seduction

when seduction became something

that was not under eroticism’s domain.

When no appetite, palpitations, horrible longing,

and smiles as I see the beautiful sunset

and think of a few words here and there that we shared,

I realize you had taken hold of me completely,

I had let you,

and I am powerless at this point to make it stop,

though I’d mourn the end of this affair either way.