'Hotel rooms constitute a separate moral universe.' br -Tom Stoppard br br A bed, a telephone, the cord br to the world br beyond the womb . . . br Here lovers meet, have met, br will meet again behind different faces br while the icy picures br look on, br seeing nothing. br br Hotel rooms see nothing. br br Business transacted, br prostitutes killed, br marriages silently shaken; br what happens here br is off the record; br there is no record br when the sheets br are changed br every night br for other guests. br br & you my darling br my lover, my reader, br ultimately br myself, br why are you hungering so, br why are you opening br abysses in yourself br before you rush off br to the next appointment? br br Eternity is just br a hotel room- br deluxe or seedy br as the fates allow, br lonely as the loneliest br one-night stand, br & with no telephone. br br Or is it the body? br Is the body the hotel room after all? br O let us inhabit it amply, crying br & screaming & embracing br before we br br check out.