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the five parts of love (176, 174, 173, 175, 177) 1 / yechida
lyre lyre lyre
an unplanned desire for song
music of the unmoving fingers
2 / chaya
my eyes don't see:
i see
channel my breath toward
my lips and yours
3 / nefesh
all sinews, veins and elbows
a vine that grows up trees
sap driving up leaves and blossoms
4 / ruach
dawn rises and descends
comes downstairs for breakfast
to fill her stomach
with butter and tea
5 / neshema
your kind thoughts adorn the transparent
dress of the sky
a godly filigree
solar flares (67A)
i am covered in sunspots
and this heat is swelling my scars
ruinous god with your red currant lips
I swear I did not love their touch
but now because they reveal intent
and the reason neither good nor gentle
nothing much just a desire for more
summer in my belly
Note: The numbers in the titles of the poems refer to the corresponding
Sappho fragment as found in Anne Carson's if not, winter.
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