tempter

with a smile and a wave of your hand

all their moral diktats you rescind

with a torso taut and sinewy

your shirt flapping in the wind

with nimble feet and a staff stout

you shower me with tamarind

with a song seductively beguiling

to the music that your oars make

with stout arms and shoulders rippling

like the cool water in your wake

with gleaming body and strokes steady

you fetch me the lily from the lake

why show me bright open skies

when you know i can never fly

why talk of another way of life

when all i’ll do is woefully sigh

why tempt me with dreams of faraway places

when it’s here that i’m destined to die