10 Lines

The sly reeds whisper to the night
By the secret smudge in the back of your soul
An aimless smile that hovers in the air
Her hardest hue to hold.


police cars cockroach through the tunnel streets
Whose backs are scorched by the flames of the shining sky
I shall not see the shadows,
she crawls, it flies …

And into ashes all my lust:
Beauty is not enough.


[“Her hardest hue to hold” – Robert Frost, Nothing Gold Can Stay
“By the secret smudge in the back of your soul” – John Ashbery, Just Walking Around
“Twisted faces from the bottom of the street,
And tear from a passer-by with muddy skirts
An aimless smile that hovers in the air” – T.S. Eliot, Morning at the Window
“The sly reeds whisper to the night
A name-- her name-” – James Joyce, Alone
“When she crawls, it flies, and when
she crawls, it flies …” – Kobayashi Issa, A butterfly, a child
“police cars cockroach through the tunnel streets” – Dennis Brutus, Nightsong: City
“Whose backs are scorched by the flames of the shining sky” – Po Chü-I (translated by Arthur Waley), Watching the Reapers
“I shall not see the shadows,” – Christina Rossetti, Song
“And into ashes all my lust:” – Andrew Marvell, To His Coy Mistress
“Beauty is not enough.” – Edna St. Vincent Millay, Spring]