by Lois Bender
choreography of salome
inspired by gustave moreau’s “salome dancing for herod”
affection a prison that followed the head
of john the baptist, flea-bitten servant of the lord.
under a wild mother, violence beget at every turn
and with deliverances, the hall is draped in funeral shroud.
all dead here, echoes of footsteps that lose
no momentum, the ting of dancing bells tolling
and never stilling, until rhythm forms clamour,
the apostrophe of a step too soon and the axefall
borne by trip, a twist of the ankle, a grip of a wrist
i too have toiled for a mad king, hungry for sons
smashed against rocks that bear no water. in galilee,
in gennesaret, in bethsaida, herod finds his downfall
in every squawk and squick and slock: notes by which
his subjects hold fast their necks for fear of separation.
now, the kingdom asunder. jesus wept. alm grudges paid
to the hand of a pauper with his own set of steps. soon
herod crosses his own tongue, claims christ returned
as baptiser’s spectre. how fickle, you son of nazareth.
your dance, salome, rippled out from a toe-tap,
sets forth a thousand revolutions, each bloodier
than the last, years puddling rubies on the floor, all of us
cast in sunlight or ice, whichever holds us longer
Rucker Manley is a poet and writer from South Georgia. They live in Los Angeles with their partner and a boundless, howling cat. Their work has been featured in Cathexis Northwest Press and House Journal. They would love to be your friend; please reach out at @ruckermxnley on Twitter or Instagram.
Lois Bender, a longtime New Yorker, combines her background in art direction and graphic design with personal expression in drawing, watercolor, photography, and printmaking creating a fresh synthesis of styles. Her art illustration brand GardenSpiritsNY Designs grew out of her Retail Gift Industry experience and her love of nature. Bender’s art practice has explored nature themes in gardens at residencies in France and The Hamptons, NY, as well as at Skowhegan and the Women’s Studio Workshop. With a B.A. from Hunter College, NY and an MFA from Boston University, she teaches art and watercolor techniques and exhibits her work in the Metro NY area. She is an Art Professor at Essex County College in Newark, NJ and has an art studio in Manhattan. She is an urban and garden sketcher who celebrates nature in all its poetic and ephemeral expressions. www.LoisBenderArt.com