Close your eyes, I will say a word. You must then tell me what you saw.

Was it the expanse of the inside of a palm?

Or the last grains of sugar hidden

at the bottom of a cup? Tell me, did you see me waiting for you to see me. Standing under

the shade of a msasa tree swaying from heat?

swaying from heat

Was it a mouth – dewy and firm

- puckered up for the sweet things only found in sticky kisses?

Close your eyes –what is the word?

Is it a mystery deeper than ancient caves

and sleeping pools? Do you see things at night? Dreams as voyages as rivers as wet sheets

Do you see things at night?

Was it the droop of eyelids?

The raw red of bites, scratches that came

from nowhere? Did it fly into you? Inhabit you? Tell me what You saw.

Were your limbs tense? Your body at war – insides aflutter like liquid butterflies.

Did you see yourself - fighting to save yourself from memories of lovers past who could make your body do things you never thought possible.

Did you see tears

at your feet from running around

trying to find yourself in strangers’ eyes?

Close your eyes, I will say a word.

Tell me what you saw. Close your eyes What is the word. Tell me what yo