Kashmiri Houseboat

by Pia Taavila

In a dark river flowing,
encircling the earth,
your tropical genitals float in my dream,
an island nation of bougainvillea:
male mynah birds calling.

Wrapped in orchid desire,
I lounge poolside and sip cloudy
drinks from a tall, lazy glass,
a paper umbrella perched on its rim,
salt lime edging my lips.

Pia Taavila, Professor of English at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, is the author of the newly-published Moon on the Meadow. Her poems have appeared in The Threepenny Review, The Comstock Review, Appalachian Heritage, The Southern Review and qarrtsiluni, among others. She lives in Fredericksburg, VA with her family and just completed a residency at The Vermont Studio Center (March, 2008).