7.
番紅花
Saffron
｜
Inked arms and a flaming cord
a pair of aquamarine irises and Vulcan ears
a stubborn embrace
a peck with sentiment
O dearest, how precious you are
bathing in the saffron waves
radiate from your fingertips
and have my toes rinsed
You can’t heal me, but you offer a way
You offer that fine sanguine liquid to me
keep me asleep with less terror
less sorrow
less despair
I still dream of the pain and the hunt
The hunt and the defeat
and the cage and my escape
Yet you carry my heart once again
Sing the lullaby of sunflowers
Pull me out of the old damn trap once again
My name on your tongue sounds glittering
shine as the ripples of the Aegean Sea
Where we shall sail, we shall get aboard
It doesn’t matter who starts the captain’s log
The east wind blows, aye, rums are full
and we’re bold
I see the aureate splashes sculpting your profile
O, and how bright when you twinkle
Twinkle, twinkle the very star
From the monoculars, I do witness
How fortunate I am
How much I adore you
from the nebula of Andromeda
— For JMP
From JNL
---
June 2022