PENGGODA / TEMPTRESS
Zana Ali
Come, you of the afternoon blood,
with your crown of plumeria blooms, scarfed in yellows.
Let me get dizzy, drunk
on the palm wine of your bones,
from those shoulders cut by the unholy sun –
and you shall have around you a garden
wherever you go: tuberoses sweating
to perfume you, your laughter caging
the birds in love.
Then you shall have me, the jungle’s ancient dancer,
separuh madu, separuh kemiyan,
anointing your dreams with gold,
gold and gold.
ZANA ALI is a priestess of olive trees and an admirer of Saint Raphael. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Twisted Moon and Liminality. She can be found sculpting her passion for writing out of mythology and neurotheology at glycophemy.tumblr.com.