Leilah

She writes poems
about my thighs
And the way
she touches them

She's intense
A feminist
Dark hair
Middle East

'I just need an hour' she says
Then calls me a feline

So when she asks me what I want
I tell her
to go down

Her freckles

- © Laura Zalenga

Tu n'es pas belle quand tu pleures

Ce soir Françoise perd goût à la vie.

Empty Steps

Bristol I love you.

But you're bringin' me down.

Greenwich

Dear Prime Meridian,

Yesterday you said tomorrow.
But my nights are your mornings and I can't keep on living in your shadow.

See you on the East Side,

180°0'E

50's Decadence

But at the end of the show these sparkling divas became Mothers again,
rushing their way back to the babies they left behind.

And you could see them bending under the weight of their necklaces
for each of their pearls
was still holding the magic 
of every single spell they cast
night after night

- The Latin Quarter (NYC), 1958