Venetian Duet
 
      we step onto the narrow bridge 
 
      she hitches her skirt 
 
      summons me to play
      her succulent violin 
 
      draw my tongue’s tip
      across black strings 
 
      compose the sonata
      of a million unborn sins
        
      nocturnes circulate
      as the evening sighs 
 
      the adagio of executions 
 
First published in Clean Sheets (2005)