they had become acquainted by
letting nature have its way in
an impenetrable darkness

a post mortem walkthrough would
have rendered it a question of fear, of
the peculiar divisions of a wildly
enamoured woman

even the cosmopolite has
a small portion of mankind
in some form or another,
and even bees would have done
many things besides work
in these conferences of night
--

it seems possible
to master fear when
all is confirmed,
half-decided

when we have
sufficient self-command
and resignation

but we lack counter and bass,
and i see nothing of the sun
in our possession