Issue 22 - 1992

Coe Review • Issue 22
Walking with Brigitte after Taps in August
Pete Lauf
trees in the kettle moraines don’t sleep
and neither do we
as we walk past nocturnal oaks and cottonwoods
wind swayed and staggered above slivered grasses
lip skip gallop down and up a glacial gorge
to pause prone on the gravel incline
heads and arms uphill
my mouth makes peculiar sounds
though you seem to like it
“You paint pretty pictures”
Van Gogh painted landscapes of the grounds outside his insane
asylum
but your summer dress is floral cotton drapery
magenta and yellow ribbons that climb your shoulders
flowered vines along shadowed boulders
thumb-nail petals adorning thin cloth
which cascades over your breasts to rest below
at mid calf exposing the soft sheen of your unshaven legs
we roll to rise and embrace but I can’t help but tremble
as my fingers explore the furrows of ribs along your back
fossilized riverbeds 300 feet in the air
at Devil’s lake where turkey vultures soar on warm upwellings
I rub my cheek on yours and enjoy the poke of tiny pebbles
your hardened nipples against my chest
a hoot owl’s call caresses
as wandering hands take in our rises and depressions
wise voices from the base of our skulls
whisper what animals would do
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