I have started a new (part-time) teaching job and today will be my second session with a great bunch of kids. We are 'doing reflections' ...

Seeing something from the other side, from someone else's point of view - can be a rewarding experience. When writing my poems I try to present the good side of a person; sometimes, I illuminate the worst. The 'other woman' is usually the villain of a piece, but I think - in some circumstances - she has a valuable role to play.

What’s missing?  

What tempts her
To lead him astray,
To lift the sheet
And slip under,
To cuddle close
And rest her head?
What prompts this type of plunder?
Eh? What’s missing?

Is it his fingers
Dancing along her arm,
Or his tongue
Quoting Shakespeare’s saw?
His smile and his carefully planted kisses
Or not knowing what’s coming before?
Who knows what’s missing?

Is it his energy?
His need for control?
The firm pressure of thumb on arched back?
Or the pursuit of giving pleasure
That she needs to keep track?
No! Think on. What’s missing?

And what tempts him
To cross that line?
What makes his hand
Slide along her hip?
Is it her hands so soft
Or her feet that matter most?
Her almost being there?
Abandoned, untamed, indeed
The whole woman in his arms
Succumbing, becoming
Unapologetically his
Is that what’s missing?

Why the hesitation? Why the chill?
They both know what they desire
They both know how to thrill
And can – and do, too
But what’s missing?

Back where he belongs
He plucks a stray hair
Checks for traces of lipstick
From his mouth
Utters words with special care
Being there
For the one who loves him
Robbed by these distant reveries
Still, nothing is missing?

And she retreats
Alone, replete
Having notched up
One more conquest
Not quite done
Not yet complete
She has passed no test
But may be closer to knowing
What’s missing. 

And sometimes she needs sympathy ... What do you think?

To see other poems, visit my website: annerainbow.me.uk