Rochelle Owens: Hermaphropoetics/Amorous, for Clayton Eshleman

hermaphrodite flower

Unnatural

the opaque energy
tearing the cornea
the eyes
leaking blood

blood

of the hermaphrodite
carnal/spiritual

A boy with bright red lips

captured after the siege

her long pale eyelashes

teasing femme/homme

a warhol-like playfulness
her/his body

A girl warrior with pierced nipples

fickle he saunters by

teasing femme/homme

emerging from the mists the mists
of Cumae

an impure creation

Meek sweetness the face the face

of the hermaphrodite
his platinum blond curls

bringing millions to their knees

Her/His body

a warhol-like playfulness

horizontal/vertical

carnal/spiritual

inside a dark purple fruit

the core divi/ded
the physical poetic

a flow of hormonal forces

the mother misery   the father terror

amorous the greedy seed amorous

A hibiscus blooming on the vine

a mango rotting
its core split/ting

amorous the greedy seed amorous

His/Her body

tasting of basil   saltwater    
the mother misery   the father terror
a slit in the stalk
blood seeping

Playful the unborn babe

in its amniotic sac

green and pale the scrotal lily

mauve and pale the butterfly vulva

floating on silkscreen

sorcery of his female brain

Her/His body
horizontal/vertical

the dome of her skull

his fat ankles   her perfect toes
his earlobes   the angle of her nose

his long pale eyelashes

her breath blowing kisses

his mouth   her tongue

vigilant the babe sucking

a fringe of milk   blood   drool

circles the nipple

teasing femme/homme

emerging from the mists the mists
of Cumae

Meek sweetness the face the face

of the hermaphrodite
his platinum blond curls

bringing millions to their knees

[An earlier excerpt from Hermaphropoetics appeared here on  February 22, 2013.]