Stephen Vincent
from Sleeping with Sappho
Some women dream rabbit, three in shadow,Three in light
And there are others who only a wolf inside the door
Few dream what hates.
Hard to confuse many by one
For the woman, call her Carrie,
Who stays constant, leaves no one
Behind the door, silken among roses
Yes to her lover and yes again
No to abandonment, no
To the rabbit’s fondling fur
In a dark
lightly
The silhouette
She who arrives
*
At odds with me as ever,
Diana, you and your odd wardrobe
To which no one cottons
Never mind the rich without taste
I throw over all my awards
First at Art and then at Peace
And “get out of Dodge”
Before you tamper the crossings on the Road
Or, might I add, before you call
On your father and that sister, Eleanor
He with the bruised looking teats
And she with the two lost children:
Unholy, ugly
Still not a maiden to touch
Sorry, but mind you, still pigeon-toed
Exit
Or, better yet,
Don’t even arrive.
*
stars with no moon
luminous to a fault
here comes Mars
pink, full
and, oh, so close.
*
Pussy?
Forget it Absolutely
No cats:
A goat?
Well, the goat!
*
To Stephanie
Over there, a limited estate
And no companions
And, what can I say,
Prowling the coastline
A harpoon without pity
She rides a horse
With silk on the saddle.
*
I
Tender my lips
The guttural muffled trumpet
The fresh skin around my breasts
Unbearably dark hair
Goat thighs
Elk vagina
I did everything
Impossible as Acacia & allergies
Bleeding the noses around us
What is released
Goes to …
What falls in a wild Iris
As much as I love the rough butch
Shadows and shade do not repel me.
*
Silvia
Permit me to turn
Calm my rage
Comb my heart with bells
The low hanging fuchsia
The red petals trembling, rain.
*
Cassie
Bitter vowels, closed lips
Elbow raised
Lips
Sweat
*
Hot bust:
The dip, a little arc’d
Some say
A man.
*
Jeans
Or
Shorts stitched
White silicon
Hot gold zipper
Calves swollen
Shoestrings
Untied, dangling
The varnished mirror
Pine – ‘tongue & groove’ – floor.
*
In back
Take it off
Carefully
I will resist
Otherwise.