The Nude

The Nude

Rafters of the ribcage brace themselves
against the skin, and slim

in the middle. Hipbones push out
like fists. From the back,

a nude woman resembles a violin.
When we tell a story with her,

she is an instrumental, a landscape.
When she turns away like this,

we admire her more, skin like
fabric, like velvet, a river

holding the light as it passes over
rocks and hills. Let’s make

her responsible for how she makes
us feel as we watch her.