The intricacies of old wood, carved and polished.
Perfect pastry, deftly prepared and passed coolly
slip-slap from left hand to right and back.
New virgin snow; old pre-loved books.
A feather found on a beach, wind-ruffled.
Sand, comfort-warm on one's back
or slithering through fingers, or damp
and squidging through wriggling toes.
The breeze there, salt and whispering life.
The full body slap of a crisp green wave,
champagne-foamed.
The chaste caress of clean sheets.
Loose powder on a big fluffy puff.
Bright heavy strings and rings of jewels
in intriguing lumps and facets.
The feel of hands running over velvet
that clings to a body. The ineffably soft
touch of thigh above a sheer stocking top.
Cold water on a close, sticky day.
A muscle-easing hot power shower.
Sliding foaming soap or gel, the tickle of sponge.
Pleasingly uneven rough cobbles;
smooth, smooth alabaster or new plaster.
Helpless sweet jelly. Cool hammered copper.
The fragrant fuzz of a yielding, just ripe peach.
A hand. Your hair. Your mouth.
Your face. You.
Author Bio:
Cathy Bryant won the 2012 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Prize for the worst opening line of a novel, and is a former blogger for the Huffington Post. Her stories and poems have been published all over the world in such publications as Prole, Women Writers and Melusine. As well as winning the Bulwer-Lytton, in 2012 Cathy won the Sampad 'Inspired by Tagore' Contest, the Malahat Review Monostich Contest and the Swanezine Poetry Contest. In 2013 Cathy won the M.R. Jordan short fiction contest. She co-edits the annual community anthology 'Best of Manchester Poets' and her collection, 'Contains Strong Language and Scenes of a Sexual Nature' was published recently. Contact Cathy at [email protected]