The Original Pornography

O'Keefe saw it, knew it

The Original

Pornography

The way she painted

pleading, begging petals

exposed, eager, yearning

to be seen by different eyes

to have their texture felt by

shifting fingertips

Strokes--

--for other strokes

Waves thrust on rock, the sun

asks seeds to burst, coaxes stem

and thirsting leaves from dirt

Precious nectars drained and

turned to gold, sticky sweet,

leaving alchemy wherever

it may fall

Spores explode, waterfalls rush

and slowly melt into gentle pools

that hide secrets in their grottos,

roots search quiet, determined for

warm, inviting earth, the clouds part

and drench the bold

The ageless coquette, she spreads

and releases, takes and gives,

dominant, yielding, known

to all, possessed by none,

Coy seductress, winking vixen,

star of The Original

Pornography

We see it, know it