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Ellen Wehle: Herodias with the Head of St. John the Baptist    painting by Francesco del Cairo, 1625

May 16, 2011 by PBQ

I
When no one is looking, she whispers in his ear. Sir, you have spoken
against me.

It’s beautiful, such precision, such an exact measure of penalty to offense.

Her needles piercing the soft meat of his tongue.

II
Always the artist controls the path our eye will follow.

The swooning queen; the hand, upraised in mid-stitch; unboxed, the severed
head
before her.

Light blossoms on her face, the line of her throat. Bright and unnaturally
glowing.

III
Intimate, the tip of John’s tongue pinched so close between her fingers.

Water leaking from the wounds, from the lakes beneath his tongue that in
life wet
every kiss.

The tip. Of that troublesome. Tongue.

IV
And each time we discover last—that is no table he rests on. Eyes,
follow.

Herodias, hand poised like a swan diving. Dissolving into darkness against
her black
dress the needle, itself, invisible.

The saint’s head in her lap.

V
Will you then, sirrah. Will you keep quiet.

Filed Under: Contributors 67, Issue 66, Poetry, Poetry 67 Tagged With: Contributors 67, Ellen Wehle, Poetry, Poetry 67

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