after Sally Mann
—silk and honey the hair is after so much rain //
but not
the skin // the skin is coral // leaf-torn
& bee-pitted //
humped up & sloping to where the neck is vapor //
—slag
bone from the whittling down of marrow // down
to where it is scarfed
in melt //
no ore // just seepage // run-off //
(though the face // the face stays
waterfall // alive // like moss or fog //
in flow)
(it bubbles out // this music //
pure abandon //
—a burned
mouth kissing burned earth // shape of fire just before the singing)