15. A SOCIAL BUTTERFLY

There was a time I felt free
like a bird
who could fly where-ever he wanted
like a fish
who could swim anywhere in the ocean
like a cool breeze
who could kiss any flower in the garden
and flowers I kissed for years
roses and tulips and bleeding hearts
I was a social butterfly
I used to go to parties and flirt
flirt with
young women, old women
single women, married women
white women, black women
I flirted with them all
I used to believe in free love
And then I met a woman
who had
smiling eyes
and
a heart of gold
She offered me
a gift of love
treasure of commitment
bounty of intimacy
and I started to dance with her in ecstasy
She showed me
loving one woman in a meaningful way
was better than
flirting with dozens of women
So I fell in love
and grew in love
and enjoyed the gift of intimacy
I learnt to love
the soul than the body
the essence rather than the surface
When I stopped flirting
and loved one woman compassionately
I had more time
for my art and music
I created more
stories and poems and songs
It was a blissful life
But gradually I lost interest in romance
and was enticed by wisdom
I started to love her
more as a person than a woman
more as a friend than a lover
and that made her
frustrated and angry and resentful
She tried to ignite the spark
the spark she had killed
Finally she got so disillusioned
she left me one night
And now
after all those
years and decades and centuries
I have become
more contended as an artist
more peaceful as a saint
and lead a celibate life
while she feels free
like a bird
who can fly where-ever she wants
like a fish
who can swim anywhere in the ocean
like a cool breeze
who can kiss any flower in the garden
and flowers she has been kissing
roses and tulips and bleeding hearts

She goes to parties and flirts
flirts with
young men, old men
single men, married men
white men, black men
she flirts with them all
She has become a social butterfly.