If I lay on that beach with youwhite, empty, pure green water warmed by the Gulf Streamand lying on that beach we could not staybecause the wind drove fine sand against usas if it were against usif we tried to withstand it and we failed—if we drove to another placeto sleep in each other’s armsand the beds were narrow like prisoners’ cotsand we were tired and did not sleep togetherand this was what we found, so this is what we did—was the failure ours?
If I cling to circumstances I could feelnot responsible.
Only she who saysshe did not choose, is the loser in the end. This is poem XI, from Adrienne Rich's Twenty-One Love Poems collection, written between 1974-1976. These were originally published as a complete collection but were later re-published and included as part of another collection of works, written between 1974-1977, called The Dream Of A Common Language.
Twenty-One Love Poems and The Floating Poem, (un-numbered) can all be found here at oldpoetry.
