Afternoon Desire
after Louise Labé
my skin is warm from the sun on the roof where I lay with him
his fingers on my belly a slow tracing of curves the smell of his sweat
I feel the weight of his gaze a physical thing that presses me down into the rough stone
I took Louise Labé's focus on the intimate and the physical, as well as her use of simple, concrete language to explore themes of love and desire. I applied this to a specific occasion, a quiet afternoon encounter, to create a new poem in her lineage.