The man with the black feather tattoo pares this space
Between fantasy and the memory of a man's carved
Torso, designed for stroking and celebration

Today the sun's brightness is like that lover's kiss,
Wonderful in the present and greater in memory

A memory that brings me back to that black feather's
Flutter. Stars dazzle in some other part of this world
Where the sun has set and the moon illuminates
Swans diving into voluminous waters.


About this poem
"I am not a fan of tattoos, but the black feather on the Brazilian dancer was a mark that could not be unseen. It is always interesting to write about desire, what sparks it, how to obtain it, what happens when it is gone. The dancer's movements, that tattoo, his beauty-ah, the sparks."
-Patricia Spears Jones

About Patricia Spears Jones
Patricia Spears Jones is author of "A Lucent Fire: New and Selected Poems" (White Pine Press, 2015). She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., and curates the literary series Words Sunday and teaches at the City University of New York.

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The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day[at]poets.org.


(c) 2015 Patricia Spears Jones. Originally published by the Academy of American Poets, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate