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Leonard Gontarek To The Reader Was there anyone to record their conversation, to bear witness? If anyone occupied the room next to theirs, they surely would have heard through the wall: Oh, Frank, how lovely it would be, shall we try? What time of day do you suppose it was? You couldn't say, Everything was flickering. Violet leaned over and sipped from a long stemmed glass - dawn or dusk - looked over the rim as Frank sipped her. How did you know it was them? Violet wore a bird mask. Frank wore a simple black one, like a robber. They were nude. You just know somehow. Why do we say we are prisoners of love? Frank wrapped his legs around her neck and shoulders. Violet thrust his mouth deeper into her. This time it took longer for Violet. And what is legend here? I don't know what is the truth. Earlier that night they danced an amateur flamenco. A crowded restaurant. She is worth taking a bullet in the heart from her husband, could be overheard. I don't know what is the truth, Reader. I would fly to them if I could. I would fly over them. I would fly away. What do these people mean to you? At the moment - as he closes a hand over bosom, feels about in silk, fierce, perfumed tip of her tiny tongue on his member - They are nothing but figures, actors viewed through cold glass. Did you leave before the end? But not before: The duck made its way across the pond, entering and departing its own elongated circle, a band of ducklings in its wake, negotiating their own rippling circles. Three or four perfect floating scarlet leaves. The roof of the shadow of Hotel Douve receding. Violet grasped him, tendril-like, pushing her backward, watched his eyes, rolling back, gasps, yeah, yeah, the beginnings of yes. And what to you remains confounding, dazzling still? Sex is called a mystery? These events, exactly as I have recorded them here, oh My Reader, is how my parents made me.

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Leonard Gontarek's books include Van Morrison Can't Find His Feet, Zen For Beginners, and Déjà Vu Diner, published by Autumn House Press in January, 2006. His poems have appeared in American Poetry Review, Exquisite Corpse, Fence, Field, Volt, and The Best American Poetry 2005. Website: leafscape.org/LeonardGontarek  email: Leonard Gontarek