Between sleep and waking. br Between self……………. br br Unrest comes sweetly in the dusk br Of dreams, dressed in the musk br Of plangent desires, of pleasures unblessed br By either staring day or striving night, br Untrammelled, unconfined by what cannot be br In the blank realms of dank reality. br br Haunting the shades of the brain, a paradox, br A dark guest, comes to greet me. A secret jest br At the expense of sun and moon, br A feral mockery, urbane, foxy, br Hides in those eyes. br A soft caress which teases, ‘Never’ br (But in this trance-time I imagine, ‘Soon’) br Loosens my thighs. br br The tests br Of the world mean nothing here. br All that is day, bright and clear br Is banished from my breast. br All that is night, numb and sightless br Gone from my mind. I am unconfessed, br Undone, ungendered, all sins unredressed, br Absolved from the ugly blight of righteousness; br Never, while kind drowsiness br Permits, to fight meaningless, br Unnecessary battles. A light, dewy br Liminality divests br Me of all needs but one: a supple sinuous br Seeking, in this boundless space, a quest- br To be embraced and lost, unsought, unguessed.