PAUL’S PHOTOS || Sensualist

He’s 28.  Like many people he moved to San Francisco very recently.  He came with his wife so she could finish her graduate work in psychology.

From the beginning he was completely at ease.  He loved talking, loved telling stories about beautiful things he’d seen, wonderful experiences he’d had. He remembers and talks about good food he’s eaten, great meals he’s enjoyed.  He loves cooking, loves gardens, loves enjoying the ordinary things in life.  He seemed to exist in a state of sensual pleasure.

I asked him why on earth he’d shaven so completely. He said “I did it for you!” It turned out that I’d asked Pony to tell him that if he trimmed, I’d rather that he shave completely. I told him that his smoothness made him seem more like a boy. He laughed a big, hearty laugh. “I had fun as a boy,” he said. “And I have more fun as a man.”

His physical presence was warm and deeply enticing.  Both Pony and I were enjoying him, getting as close to him as possible.  I asked Pony to hold a light like this, purely to give him the chance to hover next to him.  He later thanked me.

I asked him to bend forward and for the first time I glimpsed the tattoo on his back.  I can’t explain why, but it’s perfect for him.  It felt absolutely right.  He nodded his head down and for a moment seemed to be bowing to Pony.  This was when I sensed how strong this man really is.

I moved around to the front of him and asked Pony to focus the light like this.  I said “My passion.”  And he grinned, looked into my eyes and said “Life!”

I’m absolutely sure that I’ve failed to really capture the way he felt. He was open, easy, happy, in love with life and with being alive. Occasionally I would touch him to move him into a pose. He was warm and pressed against my hand, engaging and present.

If you want a closer sense of how he seemed, the best I can do is to recommend that you listen to Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. Why can’t we all feel such easy delight?

– PAUL MORRIS