IN DESPAIR
He lost him forever. And now he seeks
his lips in the lips of every new lover
in the union with every new lover
he tries to fool himself
into believing this is the same
young man he gives himself to.
He lost him forever, as if he never existed.
Because he wanted—he said—to save himself
from the stigmatized, the unhealthy sensual pleasure;
from the stigmatized, sensual pleasure of shame.
There was still time— he said— to save himself.
He lost him forever, as if he never existed.
In his imagination, in his delusions
in the lips of other young men he seeks his lips;
he yearns to feel that passion again.
Manolis 