Gospel — Nat Burns

Gospel, using erotic poetry and prose, takes the reader on a journey into the mysterious world of woman-to-woman relationships. The first part, Genesis (We Desire), focuses on that initial, all-consuming attraction two women can feel for one another. Beginning with the phrase "you steal across me like twilight" and progressing to the physical awe portrayed in "Wet Panties," Genesis propels the reader into the passion of part two. The second section, Psalms (We Love), shares the intense sensuality experienced by new lovers. "I feel a sort of hum, electric in nature" lays a path to "aching, hesitant, I limp emotion closer" as women explore issues of passion and deep need, abandon and trust. In the third part, Revelation (We Lose), lovers separate on emotional and physical levels. The words "you take my love yet deny my passion" reveal the frustration caused by the machinations of a lover and the phrase "a loneliness seeps through, saturating a living sponge grown of flesh and blood" deals with indifference. In summary, Genesis is the burgeoning of love, Psalms, the fruition of passion, and Revelation, the grief of loss. This book is unique in that it consists of small servings of emotion, whether glee, sadness, frustration or anger, and a myriad of women instead of one main protagonist. There is a thread of continuity between the three units and the resolved situations in each short story. It is erotic, sometimes graphic, and draws the reader into the highly sensual lives of women.