Erica Jong

The World Began with Yes

It was always yes, si, da, ja
the sibilant sound of assent,
the slippery tongue in the mouth
of a lover, the da dawning,
the ja yelling,
the si, si, si, sugary and sweet
between jagged teeth.

It was always yes,
come in, welcome, eat me,
merge with me, love,
let us join together to make another
little bubble of us
who will seem like us combined
yet turn out to be another.

It was always lust
not to be lonely,
lust for the apple, the pomegranate,
fruit of desire,
dense on the tongue,
making another you,
another me.

Oh love, eat me, I am yours!
Fill my emptiness with joy,
with yes, with da, with si, si, si!

Let us begin in this way
to make a new universe,
one that is soulful, sad, silly,
and full of seas,
seas that are salty
and full of the stuff of life,
me, you, and every wriggling creature
we can and can not name,
with alphabets as of yet unknown,
with letters that twist and turn
and try to escape the page, the scroll, the rock.

Life beginning again
with only a word of affirmation—YES!
Now, let it begin
and Be.