Pastiche

These shell-queens, too,         are blithely catpaws,         shorn & musky acorns with         indexed fingers erect         at manicured attention.         II          ... Showboats with green faces far as swallows fly,         a lilac in oasis ... scarlet bream          ... blue ointment where the ocean is         periwinkle patches,         a robin's egg clarity pressed         between blue-nosed tavern wall         & bottles clinking.         III         See plush cords,         the suede interior         svelte & slinky         an upholstery simonized         with natural springs where         bubbles encounter founts         in apertures, the rich measure         of open ground or mezzanine curtain         slit along a riverine walk         & jungle clearing.         IV         Twilight. Golden tulip. Golden olive,         "Fool's Gold", a lithesome snake-girl         gyrates her dragon-flared, limb-length         tattoo with red-eye dots itching in         emerald waiting; footpaths overhanging         serpentine curves or laser beam         dancer legs, paddle white, under angel         tint of stage-light.         V         The cut off jeans         compete with campfire glow ...         slipping a musket-width, nostril breadth         around turbans, bonnets, bubbles. Murex.         VI          ... Elegant white ibises and egrets         stand like sentinels; herons flying in         their wide wings braking and their long         legs dragging ... and the snaky-necked         anhingas flapping and sailing into         spread their big wings         to dry in the sun.         Sa nom m'etruit         Her NAME escapes me         Nomen fuit         Just the faintest hint of spring         UU         MM         MOTHER of PEARL         with ODALISQUE.