“Reclining Nude (1865)” by Francine Conley (poetry ’14)
An excerpt “Reclining Nude (1865)” by Francine Conley (poetry ’14), published by Pink Panther Magazine.
Reclining Nude (1865)
The shape of her is not committed to the bed on which she lounges,
feet crossed, one big toe stretched upward as if in her mind a word
just flared like vigil. Her gaze lingers on an open book set next to her
on the bed. As the one looking I enter her emergent nakedness
as if it is available to me, and yet not. Behind her, a striped duvet,
disheveled by a sleeper who thrashed about in her sleep.
Even in dreams a body grasps for what it can. Her other hand
doesn’t care. It sits slack by her side, stilled by what she reads.
