‘The Encounter’
She is not a body,
not at all.
Just a doorway.
If you raise her face
to yours,
you can see through,
underneath.
And just beyond—
fragrant twists of smoke and
placid thighs.
This red blossom
is her mouth.
It only speaks
your name.
You know yourself
against her.
Your male,
whiteness
thrown into relief.
Whole, at last,
and prime.
You leave her
empty.
Draw over
her dead body a silk curtain
embroidered with smiling cranes.
—
Wendy Chen (@wendychenart) is the author of Unearthings (Tavern Books, 2018). Her work has appeared in Crazyhorse, Rattle, A Public Space, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Most Promising Young Poet Prize, and fellowships from the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center and the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund. She earned her MFA in poetry from Syracuse University. Currently, she is co-founder and editor of Figure 1. For more, visit wendychenart.com.
‘The Encounter’ was first published by Ghost Proposal