georgia and alfred, by Melanie DuBose

georgia and alfred
 
300 might be enough 
she said looking up 
just one more he said
she looked skeptical
but it doesn't show 
in the photos
 
that's love for you
a hellofalot of forbearance
why nude she asked once
but she knew the answer
it was why people were
always taking their clothes
in White Sands the rangers
chase them but they always
come back
 
flesh against sand
against sky
in front of clouds
her soft skin 
contrasting with
her pubic hair
against the roughness 
of bark texture
is everything
 
he never took his clothes
off for her outside
she didn't mind she 
preferred to paint flowers
that looked like vulvas
bones that looked like
pelvises
she was so small and
thin they always say
artists keep more of the 
child the brightness of 
her paintings 
the dense darks of his photo-
graphs they were each 
others black and white

Melanie DuBose

The poet was particularly moved by the photo Torso, by Alfred Steiglitz (USA) 1918:
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/92198
​
Melanie DuBose lives in Los Angeles (Highland Park) next to camphor trees filled with parrots.Her poetry and prose has been published in many print journal and online sites including The Los Angeles Press, Nu Verse News, Kelp/the Wave among others. She recently finished writing her first novel, People Who Love You.