Completely in the nude, they said. Naked as the day.
Only her hair, they said. And tall on her horse. For all
to see. Was she perfect? Was her hair long and thick?
What was the day like, the day she was like? Bright
surely, not overcast, not burdened with cloth. Say,
Blindingly bright. A widow unveiled, she was buff,
she sat tall on her horse; she was perfect, no eye
could get her into focus. Complete, this woman
on her horse, on her way through the town, she was
stark. Stark. By which I mean strong, and hard as nails.
–
Annette C. Boehm (she/her) is the author of The Apidictor Tapes and The Knowledge Weapon, as well as of two intertextual chapbooks. She is a queer poet from Germany and serves as a poetry reader for Memorious.