Let Me Undress You

Morena, mi alma,

let me undress you —

slowly,

until the real you slips free,

naked

and trembling.

From your wild brown curls,

let me untangle the city —

its streets that howl,

subways that roar,

sidewalks that desert us,

the mad corner prophets 

shrieking—

and with our dovetailing hands

build a temple

of wild abandon.

Let me brush

the dust

from your chestnut breast

with my lips that ache —

so we can wake

from the dream of the day 

into our newborn night

skin to skin,

naked

and trembling.