My New Black Magazine - NYU Black Renaissance Noire BRN-FALL-206 ISSUE RELEASE | Page 87

By
MEHA
SEMWAL

I Enjoy the Act of Disrobing
it dismays me less then dressing
the innocent zippers zipping tangentially,
the schwa schwa of buttons cusping
and collars collapsing: surely you realize,
my love, this sorbet vision, bitter lemon confection,
is not for your consumption;
silk(worms) awaken as the whole
of me expands, nymph to grasshopper,
caterpillar to winged mollusk,
we all marvel at the way this skin breathes
without us asking about the church bells
and why they stopped ringing every hour?

86

If I were me looking in on me, we’d dare not tap
on the windows lest we scare away the summer insects:
only press our noses closer, let our thoughts fog up the afternoon.