Pandora's Box

I can smell it from here
The rarest of fragrances
The musk of it
The skunk of it
The patchouli of it
Hanging like
Dripping honey
In the spring time air

Pheromones
I believe they call it

The medical texts define
Pheromones as
An agent secreted
By an individual
That produces
A change
In the sexual or
Social behavior of
Another individual
Of the same species
A volatile hormone
That acts as a
Behavior
Altering
Agent

I can see her now
Leaning over the railing
Of the Brooklyn Heights
Promenade
As her flowing blond hair
Cascades down from the
Exposed nape of her
Gracefully arched neck
While the hem line of her
Loosely clinging skirt
Is gently lifted
By the invisible hand
Of a passing summer breeze
Revealing in a flash
The pink hewed flesh
Of her neck and thigh
The exposed battlefields
Where are fought
The many unending
Wars of desire

The sun is setting now
Between the gothic spires of
The Brooklyn Bridge
As the first lights of
Manhattan begin to blink on
Like a thousand diamond
Necklaces reflecting
In the sparkling
East River waters
The multi textured
Hews of the setting
Red sun

All around us
Mothers and fathers are
Proudly pushing baby prams
As they strut and
Preen their feathers
During one last leisurely walk
Before the need to hurry home
To fix dinners and
Bathe babies
Before tucking them
Into their beds

All around us
Buzzing like a thousand
Bumble bees
The pheromones
Carry their honey laden
Sticky dew drops
Of honey suckle
And pomegranate
Into the open pores
Of a thousand
Unsuspecting
Passersby
Who will suddenly
Find themselves
Experiencing
An irresistible urge
To get closer
And closer still

As close as
They possibly can
To the ebony source
Of all known
Pleasure and pain

jhmarkowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2011