Far from the abstract harmonies of art

Sonnet #22

From Sonnets 2000

Far from the abstract harmonies of art,
I see in you the shape and taste of those
Desires that had been floating in my heart
So long, half-formed. And as our passion flows
So smooth and naturally, my mind prods
Me to think: these deep instincts that we share
With beasts must be the property of gods.
Healthy, physical, intense, debonair –
You make no vague equivocal attempt:
You come committed, plunging lustily,
With no concern or care but the present,
A plum among plums, gulped down hungrily,
Penetrating me with freshness and zest,
Filling me with your voluptuous best.

* First published in Shades of Gray, International Library of Poetry, 2000.

See Stephen Denning, Sonnets 2000(iUniverse, October 2000)