Her hair catches the light
And is a yellow dawn
That glows on far horizons
Softened by a haze
That hangs on the lake

Her hair is liquid light
Bright as an August afternoon
With highlights of captured color
That glistens and dances
Like sunset on the water

.

Misty Nude

Stretched naked across the bed
Her head propped up by a hand
Supported by an arm
Resting on an elbow

One leg is extended
And one is raised but bent at the knee
And there is a slight fragrance
Coming from a candle

The light casts her in semi-silhouette
And there is a trace of smile that flashes
Across her lips but shows no teeth
An illusion of the half darkness

That paints the outline of breasts and torso
Yet obscures arms and legs
Like a fragmented sculpture
Of a limb-less Venus

.

Lilac Glaze

In the black and white
Of early memory
The lilacs bloom gray
Across the drabness
Of a yard without color
Where grass needs cutting
And a kennel full of dog shit
Needs cleaning

Under the grayscale sky
Of pale recollection
The lilacs bloom dull monochrome
Without fragrance
And each leaf is frozen forever
In the profound stillness
Of a childhood memory
Distant and colorless

.

Buttered Rum

One tan thigh
An earthen hue of raw sienna
The underside of sycamore leaves
That float more than fall
Breathless and feather light
Through autumn air
Toward the forest floor

One nutmeg breast
The burnt umber of late summer
Hot to the touch like sun-baked sand
With Parchment nipple
That floats and sways ever so slight
Through autumn air
Breathless and feather light

.