sappho takes her muse into town
shows her a good time. look! she cries,
her voice like a fingertip stroking
the inside of a delicate thigh. look
what we could create together!
sappho shows her muse around
a gallery, swishing
between the frames, pointing out
colours, brushstrokes, expressions –
pity, despair, love, naked desire – hoping
her muse feels the same
thrill. sappho ushers her
into a library, filled with hush
& wonder, they leaf through lines
of verse traversing vellum, papyrus,
plain paper, all while sappho teases
meaning from white space, enjambment
& caesura, help me write
like this! she pleads, lips
parted, heart pounding
in iambic pentameter.
later, they walk beside
the river, watch the sunlight glint
on water, listen to the clash & tugging
pull of tide on darksilt sand.
sappho coaxes a smile, takes
her muse’s hand so gently, leads
her to a stonearch bridge, &
at the centre point,
stomach fizzing in anticipation,
tilts her head, leans in
Karan Chambers is a poet and former English teacher living in Surrey. She holds a BAHons in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and has been published or is forthcoming in Atrium, Ink Sweat & Tears, Mslexia, Propel Magazine, and The Waxed Lemon. Instagram: @KaranChambersPoetry Twitter: @KaranJCChambers
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