Jewel of the Lisu


Mostly smoking let the cards fall
‘Now is the needy time’
Only self-love
The haze hugs me in place of old
Caress me with song
Hands and hair of old
Breast, teeth and tongue
Mature saliva soaked in carcinogenic fumes
L & M and rum

The butts have fallen to the paving below the tree
Glasses circle the bottle on the floor
We hold the flesh of each other
Smooth skin but hers is smoother
She likes my hairy stomach
I like her pert breasts and cheeky laugh
The Italian told me he’d hurt me
If I did her wrong
But I was the younger, fitter

We joked about children
If we meet again I hope we hug
I’d take her tongue in mine to toss and turn, mingle
The wine of her mouth is good
She’s a jewel of the Lisu people
For two weeks she kept her body
Though we lay naked together and touched flesh




11th March ‘09