Whenever

in the end

life forces a submission 

to the trembling suspension of a

flight in midair, or

to a gurney 

lurching forward 

through a pair of silent sentinel

looming metal doors, or

to the chasm of long-repressed

desire stirring in this younger

man’s heart

then plummeting

impetuously

into a release so complete

a little death

into two mighty arms

despite the flailing 

of resistance

thick 

with hollow pride

I hold close

these shimmering memories

a surrender so complete 

with the bliss 

of childhood

innocence 

I purr 

into the peace of slumber,

a velvet-black oblivion