Geisha, by Karen Petersen

Beauty, by Gion Seitoku (Japan) early 1800s.

Geisha

Her mouth 
is like 
a small red heart
Her hair, 
black and shining, 
swept up 
into an abstract geometry
of tender secrets.

But behind the white mask, 
the humble step, 
those delicate 
bowed shoulders and 
cultivated sighs, is 
an ancient matter of wills: 
hers
bent to yours. 

Karen Petersen

Karen Petersen has traveled the world extensively, publishing both nationally and internationally in a variety of publications. Most recently, her poems, flash and short stories have been published in the Peacock Journal and KYSO in the USA, The Bosphorus Review in Istanbul, Antiphon in the UK, and A New Ulster in Northern Ireland. New work will be appearing in the Saranac  Her poems have been translated into Persian and Spanish. She holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Classics from Vassar College and an M.S. from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.