tee-shirt and denim skirt,
i�ve lost my shoes and
your bougainvillea kisses
can stay there in the crook
of my arm all night
like a mahogany branch
tapping my windowpane
�til i throw the sash wide �
no spirits of dead
neighbors, in their stead
fly mad titian angels.
i listen to your tongue
(half ocean-wave, half rouging-
sun) turn ordinary auras
to Hollywoods, dip down
where the madder lake
is deepest. in the alpenglow
evening you beat out lucky
numbers with persistent hands;
beneath unsheathed metal
and blood my heart�s
a vermilion balloon, a fat bag
of gold exploding
into alchemist�s dust. taint me
cinnabar down to my toes,
paint me solferino ��the lives
of 40,000 feed a field of mercy �
i arrive in burgeoning pink,
release forgotten purples

~