After Making Love at 6AM, I Leave You in My Bed

“After Making Love at 6AM, I Leave You in My Bed” by Judith Sornberger is the second runner-up of the 2024 Love & Eros Prize, selected by John Lee Clark. We’re honored to share this reverent poem with you.

I’m entering my study—the place I go
to be alone, silent, monk-like.
But the rising sun dazzles the room
like a cry of ecstasy, and the solemn
countenance of the resin Mary
perched above my desk looks coy—
more courtesan than virgin—
in this winking light.

I won’t say I’d trade every book
on these shelves for one
of your embraces, or every word
they speak for my sigh when
your tongue circles my nipple.
But there are moments
I’d consider it.

Like the one when my legs
opened like bookends—like the prim,
ruffle-skirted porcelain ladies
on my table parting to welcome
a delicious new volume.

The moment when, like the tower
of books beside my chair
building tall, taller, taller
till it’s ready to topple, I surrendered
to a reckless spilling over

and now all my notecards want to burst
from their boxes—the over-the-top
blooms of cabbage roses, even
the bashful pansies and serene
water lilies—all wanting to become
thank you letters to the god—Oh, my God!—
who made us for that moment.