In which they undress
and begin. Permitting flesh
to arrive without warning--
a kiss you have wanted
in restaurants and trains, a blond shadow
that softens the edge of your eye
all the way to Canal St's cool
tiled walls, where Chinese mothers hasten
unable to conceal
their jealous heat, their daughters...
But look how far you’ve wandered
already, from the flagrant room
where bodies whiten, and they kiss
as though accustomed to constant radiance.
Where they kiss and remain
nameless (as if one could recall
the unique shape of darkness
in each lover’s mouth)