Stand still / in your black-
layer drapes / and black-
drape hair / glossed
and glossed / shoes / jewels / vowels
Stand still / do not move
your feet / to step / or trunk
to sway / Stand still
move only / your mouth
your face / your voice / and with care
your hands
Black-lashed Maltese widow
Born of woman / world
Petite / but towering
when measured
in phrases
Stand still / at the mike / a rock
a tree / a seabird / a small
stone shrine / Stand firm
in your stream
of language.
An earlier version of this poem was published in Creatrix