steve dalachinsky

the clothed woman
for Duke Ellington


strip away her layers
& here we have an approach
to all histories
thru memory & skin
thru learning tolerance
& precious cost
thru practice
& sometimes soothing balms

strip away the layers
like the logic of collage

first the shoes
the stockings the bodice
the dress the slip
the bra the flesh the bone
the senses the organs
the water the blood
the scraps
the mind bending materials
& tone colors
infused with fractured light.

strip away necessity
the all & the whatevers
strip it away until what you have left
is her,
irregular circles & the symmetry of movement.