The Minister’s Wife

I went to bed with a woman—

the minister’s wife, on a Salvation Army

retreat. In the cabin, there were only two beds—

two women to each bed and we settled in,

sharing the frayed gold bedspread.

And in the morning I revealed

how she wrapped her legs

around mine, and snuggled closer

to my warmth . . . I smiled

and her brow furrowed. She jerked

away, apologized for offending

me—my body—as her body searched

for heat.

And I wondered if that night, she too

crossed the reverie, legs entwined,

lips and tongues spending the night

in all our soft dreaming.