Il tuo amore era bello
by Macdara Woods
1.
Which translated
text You asked
First took me
heart and soul
into another world
And my answer always
that same Satyricon
I read in French
in August heat
in Paris and in love
In nineteen sixty–one
another country
and besides . . .
I was transported
transubstantiate
Cared not a naked rap
for Port–Royal’s report
that pagan love
and life can only end
in loneliness
Celibate horror
at the phallus in the garden:
I’d rather have
Ruth Brown or
Lucille Bogan any day
Who knew what they
were at and why
and what was what:
If I can’t sell it
I’ll sit on it
Inalienable Ruth who made
them laugh
in the barrel–house
small hours
with the doors closed
We most fiercely
want that
which we cannot have —
is our insurance
in a big bad world