We went skinny dipping on a dare
The third night we met
In the shallow creek that runs behind town
Near the spot Jim's tractor got stuck
Two springs ago, I think
Cypress lined the banks
With giant, sprawling roots
That reached to grasp the tempest
Of underpants and socks, carelessly tossed
I was unsure how it would feel
To strip
Before a man I barely knew
But I found the starkness
Easy and exhilarating
Our bodies the same variation on a theme
Of god-breathed bones
And dust
We invaded the creek bare-bottomed
With a volley of obscenities
I shrieked at the cold, but you dove right in
And when you surfaced
The moon must have been angled
Just so
Because I could see inside you
And what I saw was good
Like god in the beginning
I swam towards you then
And dark rivulets encouraged the way
I climbed in your arms
Innocence entangled
Without hesitation or pause
We were Eden's first loves
Who knew nothing yet of sin
Naked in the cypress garden
And god said it was good