Equator

You were there
beside me
the first time
either of us crossed
the Equator.  You were
sleeping,
I think.  You were
dreaming of eternity...

The lights of the plane
smeared against the firmament
like a tear
running under
the spell of gravity.

I woke you up
to remind you
of the world.

Its limitations
inhabit us, we begin
regretting
our past immediately, our present
in the (near) future.

We will stand
equidistant
to the end of the Earth,
you to one side
me to the other--
Tropic of Capricorn
Tropic of Cancer--
waiting.  For no one
knows the week
or the day
or the hour.

No one
speaks.  In a weakened whisper,
at my death
I will say
your name
instead
of God's.

equatorial origins
jungle-dark
a panther's ransomed eyes
the jewels hang
like heavy fruit
off this trunk
the roots like tentacles
disarm me
here I will sleep
neck-deep
in my desire