The Rooftop by John Tustin

I summon you from the rooftop
of my post-midnight desires
but you never come down
from your hiding place
behind the moon,
never show yourself

and then I descend the many steps
back to the humid perspiration
of my bedroom,
open the book of my life so far,
place a bookmark of tears,
close the book.

I will climb to the rooftop
again,
when the same desires arrive
but you do not
and the book of my life
waits to be re-opened
at the bottom of those stairs,

so many steps away
from the back of the moon.

John Tustin’s poetry has appeared in many disparate literary journals since 2009. fritzware.com/johntustinpoetry contains links to his published poetry online.