“
Masterpiece “
c.99, Miriam M. Wynn
Scents
of wine are on the air
I will paint the night;
Give me incense, oils and tinctures,
I will cover you;
Hand me the brush and dyes and creams,
I will work a masterpiece;
Close your eyes,
Open to me, and
I will paint your dreams . . .
You’ve never
come to me before like this,
Have you always been afraid?
There is nothing here to fear
From me,
The only mystery here is in you;
I see the ancient
wishes stirring,
Old dreams and forbidden desires,
Long dormant like the life you lead–
And now you’re here with me.
How long has
it been since you made love?
Since you closed your eyes to the world
And opened your mouth to destiny?
Forget the negative facts
And remember only
Naked possibilities . . .
Talk to me.
In this silence, wrapped in your dreams,
Can you really prove you are who you are?
Can you prove you have the courage–
Do you have the strength
To face yourself in me?
I suppose that
you think so.
Silence is acceptance, is it not?
So, hand me the brushes, and the inks,
And the silks.
Spread yourself
before me,
Like the naked canvas that you are–
Will you become
that for me?
Blank, like the snow,
And if you let me leave my tracks,
I’ll paint what you already know–
Like washing
clean the body of life,
Rinsing it free from confusion–
Let me bathe you, clean you
Set you free–
And then I will
make my masterpiece;
Scented oils on your secret places,
Flavored creams and lotions . . .
My hands move over my newest sculpture,
As it transforms and metamorphs beneath my fingers–
Shh, say nothing
about love,
Concentrate only on being and becoming–
We have plenty of time for emotion later,
For now let us examine you–
You’ve come to
the right place,
And I’m sorry you waited so long,
But here you are now,
And there’s just no need to worry–
If you fall, I’ll catch you–
I know what I am doing.
Yes, yes, whispered
dreams are much like kisses,
And I like it when you tell them to me,
So, darling, tell me more . . .
Tell me what
you want dream of,
Tell me what you desire–
Tell me everything you fantasize
And I will draw it forth from your newborn skin
Into reality–
Do you like the
images
That you see,
Rising like ethereal vapors from your skin?
Dragons, and runes, letters and symbols,
All of these things tell the truth of you–
What will you have me do?
Shall I make
them permanent tattoos,
Shall I complete
my masterpiece of you?
Can you handle it? –
Yes, my latest
victim,
You love what I have done for you–
The same for me?
Do you have the skill and knowledge now,
For that?
If so, then–
Here I am.
Blank for you,
A naked possibility, open,
Aching–
It’s been so long for me,
Since I last was a masterpiece too–
Darling, be gentle–
I’m afraid, but I trust you–
I wonder what
it would be like
To be a masterpiece for you . . .
