IN THE FRIENDLY DARK
In the friendly dark, I wheel
as bird checks in flight
to glide down streams
and planes of slanting air
So I turn, worn by work
and the dull teeth of care
to find your face throats;
and the soft dark of your hair
flesh lies snugged in sheets
to the brain, wrapped close in folds
of the still-blanketing night,
awaits the easy balm of dreams,
but my heart sours and wheels
hurtling through the friendly dark
to find your mouth and heart
and nest quietly there.
Analysis and commentary
The poem celebrates the beauty, elegance and comforting body of the African woman, the immeasurable role she plays in stabilizing the burning passion for sex in her husband. Thus the poem is about the passionate of love with a beloved after a tedious and tiring day at work. Over come by these legitimate yearnings for his woman, the speaker like a bird in flight, wheels home in rush to gratify the burning desires in him. " I wheel as a bird checks in flight". (Simile) while at home, he finds her deep asleep. Then he takes delight in admiring and caressing her pretty face, throat and hair.