I am having an affair
with the mule next door
everything about him
dazzles     long black
tail swishing his backside
like a broom scattering
flies and dust     his corded
muscled neck     pushing
me along the fence     his eyes
dark with spite and sorrow.
Early mornings before the light
we rendezvous.     I tramp
the tall grass and thistle
to the corner of our land
where he greets me
gentle mouth nuzzling
my sugared hand. Usually
I am content just to be
near him     but sometimes
the urge to climb inside
his body is unbearable.
We are both mongrels born
to parents worlds apart
Lineage a cul-de-sac     saddled
with our onliness     we understand
our ending     how it finishes here
in this field     suffering each other
madly     in love with apples  sugar  words
in wind     the scent of earth and heaven.