Somehow (Poetry)

Somehow it bothers me that
I can’t remember you naked
for all our frenzied liasons
when we were so desperate to disrobe
and the scattering of our clothes
careless with the popping of buttons
and the zing of your zip
that I can hear even now
the sight of your bare flesh
escapes me

Yet the camera of memory caught
the patterns of light on the wall
from sun slanting in
through the chequered net curtain
and the elongated shadow
of the heavy lampshade hanging
like some dark bell above us
waiting to be rung

Yours is a particular lament
my heart has not sung
for oh so many years
and yes, I have to admit
your name crops up
just now and then in conversation
and I recall your voice — your laugh
your face — your eyes
and then my body feels the burn
from love’s old ashes
but the image of your naked flesh
potent with its urgency
is inexplicably gone