Thursday, Jan. 16, 2003, 1:46 AM

For Sophie



For Sophie:

With a flip of my hair all of them flinch and with the direct stare that follows most of them look away. I hold them in the curl of my smile, the moisture on my lips, the batting of my eyelids and the sway in my hips. The men exhibit Pavlovian responses when I run my tongue gently across my teeth. That's right, boy, I'll let you go on thinking that you are the only person who exists in my universe, that is until your cute friend returns. Like a snake to the flute they are entranced, hypnotized without resistance. Their heads sway with my movement and turn with my passing. I am power. I am sex. I am the reason a thousand ships were launched. I am invincible, untainted, pure and untouchable.

And at the same time I am vulnerable, sensitive, inviting and accommodating. I can be soft. I can yield. I can quickly and deftly release my hold to better indulge in your touch, your heat, your power, your warm moist breath and your passion. I can and will accept you, and you will give yourself to me and satiate my hunger without ever feeling the subtle strings I manipulate. And ultimately you have no choice because I am woman and you are merely man. You are carnal and I am cunning. You are prisoner to your desires and I am your deliverance and you will worship at my altar.

You are the intrepid explorer and my body is the uncharted frontier. You must be sure to chart a course from the mouth of my river of passion on your way to discovering the source of my desire. You must follow well-worn paths on your journey. You must scale the peaks and mine the valleys of my territories. You must chart every province. You must dig deep with every tool you have at your disposal. And when you have unearthed the delights that had lain hidden you will return along the now familiar paths, guided by the obvious landmarks. And later you will discover me anew and delight as though you have reached virgin territories once again.

I posses so much power, so much control that I almost pity you. But the moment will pass and powers will shift, balance and flow in opposition, and I will once again be a girl and you the man. But for now, just for this moment, I am the Goddess and you are blessed to be a denizen in my temple. So, as they say, on your knees boy, on your knees.