the phonograph x-rayed my heart
revealing my masks
made transparent,
beyond the rain and taxi’s
i had found her seclusion
in naked objectivity,
plaster pale soft crumble skin
body parts watched
with cigarettes and champagne
i saw concealed secrets
and heard songs clearer
than birds in the aquarium,
her surface
seen with ermine handles
places only i would open
was i allowed,
finding folded letters
written already to me,
without violence
her form held more than torso
expression beneath smoke and satin,
i would unfold these letters
contained with words
i must adhere to
without contradiction,
they would not be replaced
paper too fragile
extracted for only the moment
my skin grease dissolved them
immediately and in sadness
yet no regret
only honesty and strength
Venus de Milo with Drawers, 1936, Salvador Dali
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