First Move

frustration

Lying naked
between the cold sheets
waiting,
I think of all the
other times I
waited
with stirrings between
my legs.

He lies naked
beside me
between the same sheets
which seem much less
cold for him.
His body is bent over
The New York Times
engrossed in something.

I lie beside him, wondering.
Should I be the one
to make the first move?
What if I do, how do I …
if I decide to make it
at all.

Making the first move
is a masculine role,
they say.
You’re a gentle, submissive woman,
they say.
Your body must ache when his does,
they say.
He makes the decisions, you agree,
they say.

I’ll make the
first move anyway,
I think, bravely.
I reach out and caress
his naked…