Written On The Body

Ink drops over my naked shoulders

A trickle of black spit feeding my pores

I feel your words taking shape on my skin

With the round, liquid perfection of vowels

Next to the martial, biting nip of dentals

Ploughing the unknown field of my back

You write on me

Using the canvas of my flesh

And giving form to your thoughts

Making them real

Like words of knowledge

That will never heal

Leave your mark, now

Tangible proof of your existence

Gift of love from the brush

Sinuous souvenir of your touch

Making my body worth

The swift passage of your fingers

The act is done

I catch a glimpse of your satisfied face

Covered with beads of sweat

And I can feel the distance

Now that I am nothing but

The materialization of a dream

Standing by the wall

A bare tree in this empty room

Dry ice all around me

I am waiting for the shooting

That will make me eternal

Like the passing of our seasons

Now, don't look through your lens

Because you won't find me there

The real me is not a shape in a box

An illusory portrait on paper

The foggy reflection of a living creature

Frozen in time and space, for your pleasure

Don't even try to look for me

For I am not there with you

In the solitary womb of the dark room

In the poisonous fumes of your acids

That picture will always be for you

The fading memory of a deceptive truth

Kate - photo: John Carder Bush