Three Poems After Izumi Shikibu

1.
I straightened the sheets
after he left, and then knelt
to wait for the dawn.
I wanted the bed to look
unslept in, because it was.

2.
He has walked barefoot
over my floors. I will not
scrub them for two weeks.
By then, I hope I may lie
beneath his eager body.

3.
Alone tonight. Hands
are left wandering, as if
they have no purpose.
I try to read, but fingers
want to stroke each line, like arms.