SARI
instead of the white gown i will
not wear out
of fear or respect
for a god with cerulean-blue skin
who looms over david’s bridal,
eyeing lace eyeing satin buttons
DAWN
we sleep in, don’t watch
the dunes bathed
in mist / our shadows follow us
away from each other, expectedly:
the darker one is mine
SEQUINS
skin-tight whether on sari or dress
i prefer black : color most
slimming, most damning
COINS
half-inch thick, i hold
under knobbed tongue / no religion
has told me to do this
i know i am not
lucky / i have always loved
my men, my liquor
SHADOW
glitter specks
a clad eye / he likes his women
to shimmer / he says
he likes me to shimmer
RING
the elders say i look ready
for it
i have improved:
to improve,
to gain, to lose—to prosper,
above all, in sickness
CHAIN
he knew i was a sure bet / & he was right
i take each link
into my mouth
HOLOGRAM LAME
when he looks at me
in the light i am a different color
entirely
LEAF
i am my own tableau:
madonna, portrait of a lover-less
bride, two fingers raised, no kind
of halo or hand blessing my forehead
o mere sona re sona re sona re / to be
gilded for the fall
o mere sona re sona re sona re so—