I met him by the pool one summer day.
The clouds were low; humidity was high.
His naked body was absorbing rays.
He spoke to me with voice as well as eyes.
Appealing to my troubled soul, he said,
"What is your name and where do you come from?"
My nearly naked body turned all red.
On first impulse, I stuttered, then was mum;
Sophistication I did not expect--
How could a stranger have such strong effect?

I started to reply but then I sighed
Whatever could this young man want with me?
I noticed he was getting drunk and high
My first impulse had been to bolt and flee
But now, discarding pipe and glass, he said,
"You know, this really is not what I want;
I wish for someone to share home and bed."
I needed to remain quite nonchalant.
Opining him to be fast, smooth and slick,
I realized I had seen him in a flick.

What could an actor offer me but pain?
I knew the industry but all too well.
But yet again, from me, what could he gain?
Still I desired to tell him, "Go to hell!"
He looked at me with longing puppy eyes
"Believe me, I wish I had what you do;
You seem secure and happy in your life."
I wondered what in his life he could rue.
Why did this man think I was so secure?
Did he grasp all the pain I had endured?

"There is a mellowness in your brown eyes;
There is a pleasant look upon your face."
I understood he was not telling lies;
Apparently, he saw in me some grace.
I asked him out to dinner that same night
And over French cuisine we talked and laughed.
Now finally my life seemed all too right;
In fact, I worried I seemed all too daft!
His smile was winsome as was his old soul;
I knew now that my life had found its goal.