Second Massage
Anxious, my first massage was blasé.
The second, my muscles proclaim, success.
The Korean masseuse welcomes me back.
She guides me to a cubicle.
The room’s dim; ambient music plays.
White candles burn on a shelf.
I strip down to my shorts.
I’m facedown, under a white towel.
This woman oils up her hands.
She spreads warmth along my back.
She loosens and relaxes my limbs.
Hot black stones click near buttocks.
Taking time, she kneads my feet.
I grin and exhale, almost asleep.
For sixty minutes I’m in bliss.
Lightheaded when she whispers: All done.
Clothed again, she escorts me out.
She hands me a small water.
I’ll attain Nirvana again: two weeks.