uses of the erotic

to enjoy myself. enjoying you enjoying. yourself to(o). ooo!       enjoying. to enjoy myself enjoying you enjoying me enjoying myself enjoying you enjoying yourself .   enjoying enjoying yourself enjoying me enjoying you/me.   enjoying.enjoying myself you yourself enjoying yourself enjoying me enjoying you enjoying yourself. enjoying.   enjoying you. enjoying me.    enjoying you&me younme youme enjoying yummi.   enjoying you enjoying me enjoying myself. enjoying you enjoying joy enjoying joy yourself. you yourself joy&me enjoying. us 3 or 4. my joy and your joy — joy we enjoying   you enjoying me. you&me enjoying. you&me joying and enjoying. ain’t joying. andjoying. injoying. Me joying you and you joying me. you&me younme   youme you whom me — us. & joy is the you in me and the me in you. joy   joy.   joy is the and. the end. of all this you and me. younme. you in me. me in you. tho you-you and me-me. both younme i. both younme am. both younme is. joy is the and. joy is the end. joy is the in. the way thru you for me. the way thru you to me. the way thru me for you. the way thru me to you. seein me thru. seein you thru. seein you tru. seein me tru. truly seein thru you and me. truly seein younme. truly seein you in me. me in you. truly seein you and me. me and you. truly seein you end me. me end you. truly younme.

so joy.us how we enjoy ourselves. some each other. (u)s. 

Copyright © 2024 by Vladimir Lucien. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on June 11, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets. 

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“This poem takes the erotic, starting with sex between two partners, and uses it as a metaphor for the genuinely mutual creation of joy between people. It is a sort of real life revelation of what Audre Lorde was talking about in her essay ‘Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power.’ It is also what the sexual act teaches: it is not merely another person bringing you joy (pleasure), you are actively participating in en-joying your-self. That is the condition upon which you can bring joy to others—by sharing your own existing joy in being.”
—Vladimir Lucien