NUDE DESCENDING A STAIRCASE - X. J. Kennedy Poems

 
 

Poems » x. j. kennedy » nude descending a staircase

NUDE DESCENDING A STAIRCASE
Toe upon toe, a snowing flesh,
A gold of lemon, root and rind,
She sifts in sunlight down the stairs
With nothing on. Nor on her mind.

We spy beneath the banister
A constant thresh of thigh on thigh.
Her lips imprint the swinging air
That parts to let her parts go by.

One-woman waterfall, she wears
Her slow descent like a long cape
And pausing, on the final stair
Collects her motions into shape.

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