Ode to a One-Night Stand

No, do not leave just yet, my gentle one,
for in four hours I've failed to learn your name.
Forgive if, once your buttons came undone,
my mind had other, lustier thoughts to tame.
In place of names, we traded caresses,
delicious scents, inarticulate groans,
and meaningful glances across the sheets.
My hand came to know your tangled tresses,
my touches fast discovered your unknowns,
and bodies yielded down to sweet defeats.

After, we lay together in silence,
a mess of loose linens and tired limbs,
catching our breath from the tender violence,
having given in to each of our whims.
Then one or other of us broke the spell:
openly we spoke, openly we shared,
over a glass brimful of heady wine,
until desire once more began to swell
and urgent longing with fresh fury flared,
demanding offerings on Venus' shrine.

There are no shadows in the dark of night,
and strangers from strangers need nothing hide.
We'll freely part when breaks the morning light,
taking each other's secrets in our stride.
As days flow past, memories will tarry,
becoming blurry, ever less precise,
'til remains only the remembered rush
of our passion bursting like a cherry
across our thirsty lips. That will suffice,
like the heat following a youthful blush.