Octopus

I want to paint you long poems full of fire,
You who I do not know.

Now my mind is tested with love which
Twists and wavers from side to side and which
Some day soon you may see...
I want you to cascade
Through ten thousand rainbows with me
And dredge mountains from the sea:
You who I now begin to know.

But emotion is pent up inside,
Too scared of dying again to live
And meanwhile I must endure your
Red-copper hair screaming like a water-baby.
Black eyes stare from my ceiling...
You who I now truly know.

Now I cannot see too clearly
And already my trellis stands bare.
How can I break free of these overclinging arms
Which entwine and enfold me
And reach to the clear blue sea?
I want you to know, but how can I tell you?
I want you to see but my own eyes are blind.

The Octopus now enfolds me,
I know you too well...