Layers by Adriana DiGennaro

It is midday and she reads on the bed. Her
curves are clothed, she lies on her stomach:
Copper strands strewn over a black blouse,
a line of purple shirt hem under the first,
next a gap between clothes layers—
a strip of skin, a narrow expanse
for kisses to stick to. Magenta
lace pantywaist, its scalloped
edge wrapped up in thick
denim stitched with pink
thread. The thread is the
same dusky rose of her lips.
Another woman’s universe has
condensed itself to a focus on this.
Such a nagging question: separate?
They hesitate, cannot remove the last
layer: the slim-bodied second, her other’s
limbs draped around that back, those hips

About the Author

A member of the Academy of American Poets, Adriana DiGennaro received her B.A. in literature and creative writing from Bennington College where she studied under Mark Wunderlich and Mark Poirier. Her first book of poetry, “Peripheral Vision,” was published in June 2001 by Writers Ink Press. Her second book, “Acts of Contrition,” will be published in Spring 2007 by Windstorm Creative. Ms. DiGennaro’s poetry has been featured in Red River Review, BigCityLit, PoetryBay, Merge, The Aurora Review, Poetz, Boston Literary Review, The Tipton Poetry Journal, Tryst, Ancient Heart (United Kingdom), Eclectica, City Writers Review, Poetry Midwest, Esopian, Adagio Verse Quarterly, Falling Star Magazine, Flutter, Wonder Writings, Long Island Quarterly, Triplopia, Clean Sheets, Sidereality, Southern Ocean Review (New Zealand), Perigee and The Improper Hamptonian. At just 17, she was on Red River Review’s 2001 list of nominees for a Pushcart Prize. Her work is also included in the following published anthologies: “The Light of City and Sea” (Street Press 2006), an anthology of Suffolk County poetry edited by Suffolk County Poet Laureate Daniel Thomas Moran; “Southshire Pepper-Pot: A Literary Feast With Culinary Refrains” edited by Cris DiMarco (Windstorm Creative, 2006): “In Our Own Words: A Generation Defining Itself” edited by Marlow Peerse Weaver (MWE Press, 2005), “Whispers of Inspiration: An Anthology of New American Poets” edited by Darlene and Steven Manchester (Sunpiper Press, September 2005); “Ancient Heart Magazine Poetry Anthology Vol. III” edited by Richard van der Draaij (Ancient Heart Press, 2005).

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