i mustn't
be patient any more,
she said, convincingly unconvinced,
a spider crawling up her spine
and the heart
sneaking back up the sleeve.
mustn't mustn't, naughty!
the idea
that waiting could be clean.
puerile, neurotic, spoiled and splendid,
time and tide and the modern woman
need no transportation
or translucence.
i musn't
just let it meander,
she insists!
i must wrangle it by the horns,
else waive the red flag
of yesterday's dawn.
heavy, overburdened,
a trawler on the horizon:
seaborne, airworthy, earthbound.
mustn't define a sin
till the deed is committed.