But for the phantom...

        "...Like an Elephant in the Elephant"s Forest..."
        Dhammapada. 


but for the phantom
of a burning forest
I would’ve thought
they got down
to burning witches again

odour dense
like sex
with a bone sticking
straight through the  heart

you’ve got a mole
on your tummy
a bit lower

you’ve got a watch
chained  to the numb jaw-bone
the fingers cherishing
Musk Orchis of the breasts

don’t get scared
that cloud is a witch’s shadow
which pauses
at the sight of  our naked bodies
invisible

close your eyes once more
you’ll feel a snake
resting in your feverish womb

go to sleep
you’ll see treetops
of those resurrected
in the shape of pines
from which children are descending
like multicoloured soap bubbles

the sound turns into hysteria
the trunks are bursting
snatching from the sky’s eyes
Olympic fireworks

it’s only an elephant
sweetheart
dissected by flames
entangled in the witch’s hair
dishevelled by the wind
in the virgin phantom


2000

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