Saturday, April 28, 2007

Temptation

There’s a delicious looking cake in the window of the bakery. It's been teasing me for months with its remarkably enticing richness. In fact, I often find my eyes lingering a little too long each time I pass by. And when I do, I almost always notice something new about it, something that makes my mouth water, something that fills me with desire.

However, even if this tantalizing decadence tastes as good as it looks, such seductive sweetness can’t possibly be good for me. Such things are for the young and the foolish. I’ve been both, having indulged my appetite with a few such guilty pleasures before. Likewise, those experiences taught me that no matter how slowly I savor it, my satisfaction will be brief. Ultimately, I’ll be left with an empty carton and regret.

Yet, the more I resist, the more it seeks me out. When it returns my gaze, it seems to want to delight me more than anyone else. When it stands close enough to touch, when it wraps it’s arms around me, when it whispers temptations in my ear … my thoughts blur, my skin warms, and I can barely hold myself steady.

Oh, how I long to surrender.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Song of the Day

You Can Never Hold Back Spring
You can never hold back spring
You can be sure that I will never
Stop believing
The blushing rose will climb
Spring ahead or fall behind
Winter dreams the same dream
Every time

You can never hold back spring
Even though you've lost your way
The world keeps dreaming of spring

So close your eyes
Open your heart
To one who's dreaming of you
You can never hold back spring
Baby

Remember everything that spring
Can bring
You can never hold back spring

Tom Waits

Friday, April 13, 2007

Women Like Her

It seemed like everyone was waiting for her to arrive, and when she did, I was eager to remind her that we’d met before.

Her hand was cold. I held it longer than necessary but she didn’t seem to mind. I was happy to get a step up on Bill who awkwardly introduced himself. She said his name and how nice it was to see him again. She obviously remembered him. She remembered me too. I suppose it was too much to hope that I was a little more special that that dipshit.

Unlike her chilled fingers, the warmth of her spirit brought a fire to the room. She laughed effortlessly and I noticed how she touched others with ease the way women like her are welcome to do. I wanted her to touch me, and each time she did, I wanted more. After a while, I took her hand in mine again, just for a moment. She warmed her fingers for a few seconds before I noticed the sadness in her eyes. It was a flash of remembering someone or something that didn’t belong there. She tried to recover with a joke and a spin, but she knew that she’d been caught.

Was her sadness a warning or a challenge?
Perhaps it should have been a warning, but for a guy like me it was both. During the next half-hour she stood next to me but avoided my gaze and barely said a word. I thought I should leave but when I said so, I saw her ask me not to. Just to be sure, I stepped close and rested my hand against her back. When she leaned into me and smiled, I decided a second beer wouldn’t be so bad.