Monday, April 02, 2007

Getting Ready

Slick wetting streams
Off the slope of my back
Steam sprouts and floats
Like elusive dreams
Through the gap above
Luminous white curtain

Undrape the towel
And smooth over
Little globules of penetrating
Moisturiser
Little blobs of sweet smelling defeat

Nourish and feed the need
To flatten spurts of thorny
Animal
Cultivate a culture
Of shiny baby necessities

Give me your look
Give me your love
Give me your need
So I can feel
Necessary

I pull over clothes
Over my supple new nakedness
Tempered, perfumed
Acceptable
In civil society

Preferring waxing to
Shelves of stubble
On display counters
Inured to Pain
But open to criticism
Getting ready
To exfoliate
extract and expunge

3 comments:

Ashutosh said...

lovely poem.. evoked a lot of pictures in the mind... the parallels drawn were ironic, strak and beautiful...

Geetali said...

Anita, your work is amazing. Can't have enough of your verse - what a turn of phrase - what dexterity in turning metaphors on their heads.
Kudos.

Anita Sivakumaran said...

Thanks Asutosh and Gallimaufry. That's very kind :)