Eartha Kitt As Muse
by Yesenia Montilla
The eyes are two saucers filled with every
forlorn woman’s last meal: roasted
chicken & a good Bordeaux & how
the heart is found in the neck’s thick artery, ready
for a man’s good touch.
Eartha, I know nothing about fame or fortune
but I know a little about being so lonely
that even the flower’s elaborate bloom can not keep me company.
You’re so damn pretty, that I could write a poem about you
& you
& (insert lover’s name) We both have had plenty
to spare & darling, I love how
we look in the mirror & kiss the air
& how when our hand waves in greeting
the sky and all its particles dance & a sweet sigh
escapes from our parted lips
& isn’t that sound a kind of tenderness?
How laughter bolts from our mouths like a wild
heart drumming
this is how we muzzle the world —
Yesenia Montilla is an Afro-Latina poet & a daughter of immigrants. She received her MFA from Drew University in Poetry & Poetry in translation. Her first collection The Pink Box was published by Willow Books & was longlisted for a PEN award. She lives in Harlem, NY.
For Summer: Poems by Latina/o/xs is a curated collaboration between Francisco Aragón at Letras Latinas, the literary initiative at Notre Dame's Institute for Latino Studies, and Emma Trelles at the Best American Poetry blog.