"OF MYWANT"
by Christopher M. Leisher Nantucket

Humans have appetites
which span galaxies;
we are insatiable
creatures of desire.
If ever we have,
whatever the object is,
we are still never distracted
from renewed seeking.

Lovers stay together
for a lifetime
having loved each other fiercely,
thoughtfully, specifically, tangibly
for days and decades
and never have been saturated,
continually pouring into
a vessel never full.

Lord Help me,
I ate three hearty meals today;
each one cooked at home,
each one thick and rich.
In addition, the red wine,
two heart-healthy glasses
of a French rouge.
And yet,
I put myself in bed, here
still hungry,
still ready to eat more.

It is well near Christmas.
Outside my generous home,
a Nantucket wind will not relent;
it pries at cedar shingles,
it rattles panes of glass
in ornate, front door lanterns.
I am a person of like persistence
and I am not ashamed of my want,
but reminded of its ceaselessness,
and reminded of others
who both need and want.