Emerald or jade, viridian or grass

Verde of the Veronese 

Jade of Ming or Raja from Tondo

Arms raised as if one could

Taste Mercedes’s brazo

But it is Lydia’s lithe, muscular maiden

Stretching upon waking or reaching

For something in air at noon

Air whirling with typhoon 

Swirls of Whang-od’s tattoos

Scent of camia or jasmine

Intimate with what remains

Of gauze kimono half-clinging

Half letting go of shoulder or string

In a dream intimate with womb

The Other muscle from star or galaxy

Tree in Eden and the serpent’s sin

Thinnest touch that defies skin

O tender abdomen and below

O emerald or jade, viridian or grass

Verdant fecund tremulous flesh 

One cannot refuse beauty

 

 

Marne Kilates

2 October 2021

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