Il tuo amore era bello

by Macdara Woods

1.
Which translated
text   You asked
First took me
heart and soul
into another world

And my answer always
that same Satyricon
I read in French
in August heat
in Paris and in love

In nineteen sixty–one
another country
and besides . . .
I was transported
transubstantiate

Cared not a naked rap
for Port–Royal’s report
that pagan love
and life can only end
in loneliness

Celibate horror
at the phallus in the garden:
I’d rather have
Ruth Brown or
Lucille Bogan any day

Who knew what they
were at and why
and what was what:
If I can’t sell it
I’ll     sit on it

Inalienable Ruth who made
them laugh
in the barrel–house
small hours
with the doors closed

We most fiercely
want that
which we cannot have —
is our insurance
in a big bad world