Sea and Room Poem

She pushed a hair from her face and stared out
        over the bluegreen sea
In her pocket she held a letter
        on heavy paper the color of cream
                folded three times.

Her love stayed up through the night
                drinking and laughing and singing
                in a small dark hot room 
                that smelled of sweat and sex and paints
                talking of wine and lust and philosophy
                of prostitutes and professors and painters
                of books and smoking and games of chance
                on a desk sat a letter, under a candle
                that had been burned down to a nub.