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| Edvard Munch, "Knelende kvinneakt" (1921) |
without the rain
i undress the night myself
like the skin of bruised fruit
i can’t help but
push. there is no riot
of thunder slick & heavy
under the tongue,
no flood to cleanse the sin
i wear as if it
is only a layer of blush
on my cheeks, the colour of roses.
the colour
of august & my quiet
undoing. on the train
ride home, it felt good
to admit i was lonely.
to look out the
window & see vague lights
floating around each
other beneath the faint
glow of broken street lamps
just light dancing
with more
light, orbiting the same circle,
taunting me with
bright mouths. the world
goes on touching everything
except this strange
body of mine.
sick with longing, i undress
the night the
way a lover would. the way
an ampersand
curls into itself – arms always
seeking, nothing waiting on either side.
DONNALYN XU (Sydney, Australia). "Vague Lights". Online: https://www.palettepoetry.com/2020/05/11/vague-lights/
