Let's be discreet -- Amanda Townsend

Guest poem sent in by Jasmina Ravnjak

(Poem #1288) Let's be discreet Tell me That your eyes do not search for me In a crowd And I shall say to you That my heart does not miss a beat When I see you And that nature's fertile flow Does not bathe The most delicate And intimate essence of my femininity Tell me That I have not felt The pressure of your body against mine And that I was not shocked Or excited By the power of your masculinity Tell me that you cannot cure the ache Which lingers between my thighs And my body will deny that I desire you -- Amanda Townsend

I found this poem in a collection of African – American erotic writings ("Dark
Eros", St. Martin's Press, Inc., December 1998, edited by Reginald Martin).

Simple, yet it provokes complex feelings – it is at the same time melancholic
and spiritually sensual.

Unfortunately, I could not find any information about Amanda Townsend. I also
do not know whether the original is English or French[1], or both?

Many Regards,

Jasmina

[1] The English version was printed on one page, followed by the French version
on the next page (you had to turn the page and it was on the back of the
initial page). The French version had "French Translation" in between the title
and Amanda Townsend's name, which makes me think that she translated it
herself.

The French translation:

'Soyons Discrets'

 Dis-moi
 Que tes yeux ne me cherchent pas
 Dans une foule
 Et je te dirai
 Que mon coeur ne s'arrete pas de battre
 Quand je te vois
 Et que l'ecoulement fertil de la nature
 Ne baigne pas
 L'essence la plus intime
 Et la plus delicate
 De ma feminité
 Dis-moi que
 Je n'ai pas senti
 La pression de ton corps contre le mien
 Et que je n'etais pas choquée
 Ni excitée
 Par la force de ta masculinité
 Dis-moi que tu ne peux pas querir
 La douleur intime qui me ronge
 Et mon corps niera
 Que je te desire