My Muse

The spirit of Aphrodite
with Marie Curie's brain
all the intangible sexuality of
Cleopatra
thrown in a petite 5'3" frame

She has the body of a Goddess-
perhaps in a dream one summer's
eve, I molded her
out of clay
Her holistic and sacred ways-
spell out Indira Gandhi or Joan of Arc
with patience of a Saint

Daring like Amelia Aerhart
sense of guidance and admiration
for Earth like Pocahontas
taking in her John Smith- this
European settler sets in, I swear to
do no harm to her land of promise

Freeing my ways, like legions of slaves
No Tubman here, she tells me only
Sojourner's Truth
Leading like Queen Elizabeth the 1st
she lets actions speak
her selflessness living proof

Jane Austen with her words, I plead
with sense & sensibility
Jane Goodall couldn't have a better
way with apes than the way
she always tames
the beast in me

A Mona Lisa with freckles-
Desdemona with tattoos of
Phoenix and wolf's tooth
Turtles find their way to her breast
and nose, she breathes out to exude
everything you'd want- Audrey Hepburn
with no narcissism to flaunt
her burn mark, every scar only
leads me to appreciate even more the
essence of what flawed images of
perfection can be when held
in her bracelet- lined arms

She is Frida Khalo with her fingertips-
painting her brush strokes eagerly
on her way to my heart
the greatest opus- I could never
compose, more vivid than
a dream's imagery
somehow was sent to me
I'll tend to her needs, frame her
forever-
she is heaven, she's the angels,
and our creator's single greatest work
of art.






(c) Paul LaTorre 2010