By Jude Bautista

The heat of the day is stifling

Yet I yearn for the warmth

of your skin

There is salt in the air,

A faint fragrance of blooms.

In the words of Nick Joaquin,

‘A blaze of flame trees in mind’

Lust grows with every heartbeat

But it is more than that

I need the thought of you,

The scent of you, the touch of you,

The feel of you,

The one I long for,

My Warmth.