Kawakubo’s lonely figurines

aimlessly stare out of wool,

cotton and satin, when the

French critic hails for all to

hear — "le magnifique."

One-eyed mannequins trade

their half-glances for

casual words of praise

from lovers on their first date.

Purring into each other’s ears,

thighs brush against one other

in anticipation perhaps

of an uninterrupted night of love.

A rectangular window

opens to a sky full of rain.

This mundane elegance

of a less abstract world,

never still.

We hold hands, walk in and out

of museum halls with ancient dust

on ceramic gods, who once spoke

Greek or Roman but now silent,

with broken ribs from failed conquests,

full of love and wars.

I look at how you look

at other women, then

the mannequins, when I

remind you that—

It is raining outside,

We need to buy an umbrella.

published in Silk + Smoke Magazine, June 2019