carved of clay
cut from bone
issued by sea and sultry voiced women
she was born to this
*
wildly fluttering hips
small feet with gold coins clanking
heavy bosom heaving
she accepts their stares
spots their sloppy tongues dangling
*
she twirls and slaps the thirst from the soldier’s eyes
without even glancing in his general’s direction
*
she wanders purposefully, distracting
hundreds of hands flung across tables
hopeful
she might weave her dance
in their direction
*
cigars and whiskey fill the men’s mouths
for a time
and all the while
her hands, henna-stained thieves,
begin to touch
without leaving the softest caress
*
the bareness
of her goose-pimpled glistening skin
is as forbidden
as it is arousing
*
the men
come to imagine
her body moving beneath them
all its ripeness
fully displayed
*
and yet
she slips away
mystery, fallacy
an unknowable truth
sheer as fabric, breathing, fluttering,
clinging
whispering
the chase is on
*
she mounts
the stage
taunting,
impossibly close,
impossibly far
*
scented by honey
with peat and saffron and sex
she seduces her way across the room
touching
nothing but air
*
her body is art
working
*
her eyes
never stop exploring
cracks in walls and doorframes
searching for any weakness she might exploit
***
Copyright © 03/27/2024 by Christy Munson. All rights reserved.
About the Creator
Christy Munson
My words expose what I find real and worth exploring.
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One Unchecked Box
"Republished" because it was the only way to add the embed for the newly recorded audio version of this story due to the Top Story badge. Plus it serves as a nice, informal announcement of the podcast's revival for another season (go subscribe!):
By Stephen A. Roddewig7 days ago in Fiction
Comments (9)
I feel inexplicably hot under the collar 🔥 This is beautifully written.
Amazing & mesmerizing!!! Loved it!!!❤️❤️💕
Wonderfully imagery! I could feel the seduction. Well done, Christy!
I got such a lot of visuals from this! I reckon it could take more auditory accompaniment too!
Oooo, my favourite part was the henna-stained thieves! Your poem was so beautiful
As enchanting as Salome dancing before Herod! Beautiful, mysterious and sensual poetry, Christy! Well done!
Nice! Easy to picture!😊💕
Some great words, this could be a Top Story, excellent work , making me think of a guitar piece I shared by Al Di Miola, makes me think of a wild dervish
I love how all this verbs are doing this dance and becoming a seductress who is the smartest person in the room!