A Trick of Sunlight: Poems

Cythère

Cythère Though we can start with Botticelli— The blonde hair streaming, and the eyes Fixed in provocative surprise, Her hand strategic on her belly— Your avatars dissolve and morph; Flesh volatized to soul, the whore Whose flesh is cash and something more, Punk wraith, unwieldy Willendorf, The skinny-dipper at Lake Tahoe, The floating world, la belle poitrine Of a long-dead Minoan queen, The plenitude of Khajuraho . . . But now, for me, you coalesce As French, immediate, medieval, Making improbably coeval Iseut, Watteau, Bonjour Tristesse. I see you now, your body bare And welcoming, your eyes intense With passionate intelligence. Your hands in mine, adored Cythère. 31 You are reading copyrighted material published by Ohio University Press/Swallow Press. Unauthorized posting, copying, or distributing of this work except as permitted under U.S. copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. ...