Let Me Tell You

For Helen Patrice, who said:

You are floating in the sky among the stars.

You are naked and beautiful.

Your hair lies along the sky 

as if the sky were a pool of water.

Your pale upturned face

looks perfectly relaxed, 

as your arms do too, 

stretched out lazily each side.

You are swimming in a sea of stars.

You are never going to drown.

Your upturned face, with its tiny nose

and perfect chin, appears ecstatic.

Your legs are playfully dangling, 

moving just a little at the ankles –

all that is needed to keep you afloat.

Someone drew you long ago, in white,

on a rock wall at Oberoi, and over you

the round white moon. I was in tears

at how beautiful you were – floating

above the x-rays, the practical, the food.

If you have no idea what you’re doing,

that is because you are being. You are 

being a Goddess. You are being a star.

Oberoi Rock in Kakadu National Park, Australia, is a site of ancient rock art, much of which was done in what is known as x-ray style.

The image above was on facebook, available for sharing. I haven't been able to find any provenance for it and there was no copyright statement. If anyone knows otherwise, please contact me.

I'm linking this poem to Poets United's Poetry Pantry #319