On a summer's evening

On a lovely summer’s evening
With applewine on a rooftop terrace
With the clear evening air bringing the scent
Of forgotten melancholies
And desires that will never be suppressed
Cutting the scallops one by one, salting them in
The pickled mélange of hope and lust
Tell me, looking into my eyes,
You did not once wish that the chair beside you
Empty—or where a stranger sat
You did not wish it was me:
For in every dark head, every mop of unruly brown,
I have often suddenly jerked my head away
To peer at my behind
And wish if it was you…prying on me
Stealing my heart when I wasn’t looking

~~scio amo