The Forest of Touch

i dreamt in the moonlight of a great forest

and the breeze took me off to that place

one where we’re all blind and nothing was seen

and all I could do was

sense

touch

and feel

there’s fear all around and patches of hope

where love slowly draws us together

where moments of pleasure

abound in the forest

where the trees are so deeply asleep

my fear that so gripped me began melting away

with the wonder
the delight

of waking in the forest

for a time i was conscious of only the breeze

as slowly

it began

to slide through me

it thawed out my fear

it changed how I felt

it was as if in this new world

the only embrace

was that of the wind through my limbs

moonlit

and still

i heard them first

the creatures of this world

gliding

swirling

twirling through their forest

i heard them on the breeze

they saw me awaken

into this dream

and it seems that my fear kept them somewhat at bay

i can hear them, i can feel them as they moved through their world

as they danced as they laughed

as they moved with the breeze through the trees

and still my fear kept them at bay

so i breathed in their air

and I felt the first touch

as the bravest of the creatures came near

a breath over my skin let me know that this world

is so so different than mine

i quivered

i shook

and the first touch was soft

as the hand glided over my skin

and i breathed and sighed and the creature drew close

as a dance long delayed slowly started

something woke

something deep and arcane

and the brave wonderful creature

held me close and so warm

as the fingers, the hands

the hair of the creature

wound over

wound through and inside me

all mixed with the wind and the breeze of this place

a world I could never have imagined

then gone was the creature

and i was left to my self

to marvel and delight in this place

where sight taken away meant touch could be easy

and closeness so intimately chosen

and now I could see with a sense I’d not known

a creature exquisite drew near

so tender so passionate

so warm and so playful

that all of me ached for the breeze to appear

i slowed

i breathed

and i swayed in the moonlight

i could feel a gaze flow over me

it was if being seen was to feel a touch softly

as the light from the moon was drawn over my skin

and then the first touch

that softness and warmth as it trailed slowly over my skin

it moved where i willed without saying a word

as the creature read every sigh

every sway

every little movement

as we danced in our dream in this world

i spent but a moment

i spent a whole lifetime

dancing with creatures in my dream

the forest is silent

unseeing

unfeeling

with pockets of touch

glades of pure pleasure

bringing life back to a forest

long lost in it’s blindness

I'd struggled to write for quite some time now.  This poem came from two places.  One, a friend of mine challenged me to write something sensual some time ago and I could never really get my head around it until two ... I went along to a workshop on touch.  In our communities and society we don't touch much and yet humans are social and touch comes naturally.  And touch is particularly valuable in times of difficulty, it helps us feel connected.

(C) Copyright Luke Visser 2017 (written Feb 2017)