Carnal Knowing

Carnal Knowing       





Take my hand and come with me, the Devil said.

And I did.

And the Devil led me

to my unknown secret places and

gone was my innocence.

In its place was a knowingness,

of things I had never talked about

except under the covers with the lights out,

of things I had only thought about once

I came to know pleasure and appetite.

In the thickest part of myself 

flowering and deflowering

until the tulips bloomed again.

In my deepest, darkest secret places,

hunger and passion, cravings, aching and desire,

began to come alive.

In those most intimate moments, we touched,

tenderly delighting in each other as the emotion built,

yearnings and longings intensifying as we moved.

It was like a ballet in which two dancers are in

perfect rhythm, perfect movement, perfection.

And then we lay together softly,

to dream of lace and promises.

Elizabeth Sams



I do have a network of individuals and groups who are assisting me to grow, learn and publish my work. I am a new member of Poetry Gabriola, the League of Canadian Poets, the Canadian Children’s Book Centre and the Canadian Author’s Association. I have online exchanges with CBC: Canada Writes and with poets and authors on LinkedIn and The Woven Tale Press. Naomi Wakan, Poet Laureate for Nanaimo, BC, has critiqued two of my poems and encouraged me to continue. Her comments were “strong writing” and “integrity – with nothing between you and the page except the words.” I am humbled. I am unable to include those poems here as I have already submitted them elsewhere. Another Gabriola Poet is currently reviewing an evolving poetry manuscript, Feelings and Fantasies. And, I have just this week had one of my poems accepted for publication in the Plum Tree Tavern Journal. I am excited to be on the way!