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Dream of the Young Prince

You rowed her out onto the lake

under a pallid spray of stars;

the sweet heavy scent of gardenias

hung low upon the water.

She reclined on a silken cushion,

pipe smoke eddied,

spirits stared unblinking

from her kohl-rimmed eyes.

You laid down oars,

moved to clasp her,

woke naked on a hillside,

unfamiliar constellations

dancing in the sky.