Limnology of the Minor Goddesses

Brackets are exciting.anne carson

The Papi

Bernal Heights

I twirled pigtail ribbonsplaidmicro skirt   thigh high bootsfor {Daria} who growled   You make me feel like adirty old man

leather chaps lay heavy on hir liketoltecpromises   I kneeled to blue suede flogger   swirled

hys truegender erectin my cherry-gloss lips

The Alumna

Alamo Square

vast butter-white {Helena}spreadrubenesque before memelting as I spanked her

nothing’s as shockingas the anti-Muse warnsonce you sing it aftercare   snuggled in flannel   we mouthed June JordanSappho   Mary Oliver

blank as gesso   our whole lives ahead

The Geek

SoMa

{Bobbi}’s tart-red vinyl skirtrode upas she tickle-tackled me to the floorsordid with latex exhalations   bleach sweeps

chained up in the swingI stopped smartmouthing   succumbed

O naiadsmer-girls   medusas may you gloryin all your ravishingsas I did   that fluorescent night

The Cheater

San Jose

{Paradise} dressed in polyester-blend curvesadvertisedfor a couple   but flirted just with me

first girlygirl   first anonymous {our true names password-kept}first night I heldthick brown tremolo so like my own

she showered   sprayed eau de bergamother husband couldn’t know

first adulterer   not last

The Engineer

Hoboken

the boa {Issa} gave medrapedmy throat   inky   Whose pussyis it?   she’d demand as she pumped me

corralling the ariasI was born to sing   O Kamaof denim   orange oil   lake-hued peridot   reservoirs of shame

who gives a femme feathersonly to clip her wings?

The Curator

Cherai Beach

for {Narcisa} I fellblindfoldedon my belly   waited asgulls screamed over the sands   children hawked beads

calmly in the motel roomshe snapped on black latex gloves

afterward our toes lickedArabian Sea

my cells hummed   pranic

ice lollies from the night cart

The Baller

Brooklyn

{Sakhi} of the turntablebling whiskey jangle   generous mouth   soperfect if only we’d each been completely different

in her armsthe world was all bubbles & throb

glimpsesthrough tinsel   of a sacrificed song

filligree’d brilliance sifted intolaughter-armor   life-of-party   beat

The Biker

Potrero Hill

when {Gowri} pummeled mefistupon fist upon lustrous fistI levitated   shed shame   begged for more

my legs shook   weakenedin pink pleather go-go boots   my boobstrembledlike a sin-filled nymph’s

the old whips-&-chains crowdgasped   at our vesuvial heat

The Professor

Madison

a decade maybe two till I askedWillwe ever sleep together?

boyfriends distances kidsmonogamous stints   had added up to   justfriends

let’s cuddle she said   pink smilestripped off conference suits & heels quick as sandher whole hand within me

The Minister

Golden Gate Heights

I slipped into {Rhea}forgettingnot to moan O God!as she thrust the baby-jesus dildothrough fishnets & pearls

between mud & miracle we played by the good bookchecklists   safewordsinventing commandmentsto corset our heartsshalt not covet another’s primary partner

The Healer

Sunnyvale

otter-eyed {Priyanka}   youshimmiedthen fled our coupling   Irue my wrought tears   love-drunk needles sunk intothe wrong meridian

must I swoon   every time for   the wound?O Kamaevery story tries to mend itselfstitch by stitch likea bride’s finespun silk   blood-stung

The Painter

Mendocino

{Rosario} of shadows &brushes

that’s not the green you need she scolded   folding cadmium into cobalt to showthe river   Navarro   O lodemother

of alluvial gold & aubergine trout   on womyn’s landwe swamfree of bikinis   lounged nude on boulders

where you blessed ourdiurnal mingling   agave sighs

The Stranger

Tribeca

I almost forgot {Fiona}whotrussed me in floss   led meround the dungeon like a kitten   pinched clothespins inthin pale fingersthrew me over a sawhorse

{ }

no before or after   how Iliked it   those stiletto yearsall endorphins   loss   incendiary crave