A hummingbird is etched
at the nape of her neck
between a shiver of shoulders,
it hovers like a tiny moon
over cruets of honeysuckle.
Her mind is a cutlass of emotion
a chisel of shame or the begging tongue
of a feline feral.
Unheralded breasts perched on pale slopes
defeat and yet define her.
Her apple heart harbors man
whose anger is a ligature winding.
Its beat is a warm river of release
or a bleed across a torn canvas.

Tattoo by tatuajestatua