In Her Own Image by Hazel Frankel

In the beginning
She went spot, stripe, splash,
painting wishes on flamingos, winds on tigers,
whirlpools on tanagers,
secrets for panthers, storms for wolves
and tidal waves for jaguars.
Then She sculpted
agapanthus in emptiness, camellia against the dark,
frangipani for following, bougainvillea for birth,
jacaranda in jeopardy,
oases of shrike and sunbird,
mirages of hibiscus and rose.
Finally, She stuck fuzz and fur
spines, spikes, prickles, barbs,
onto every silky surface She could reach.
That was the end of Her work-play day.
She was exhausted. She had vertigo.
She had run out of ideas and energy, collage and paint
and so She left woman delicate peach.
The next day She felt rejuvenated.
In a flash of inspiration She took
the flood of poppy and the iris of the sky
and added these to woman
so now whenever she is pierced,
a torrent bursts her banks
and her subterranean river
runs bloody and churning,
her breaking heart undammed.

BIO: Hazel Frankel lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, within ten kilometres of where she was born. A practising artist, calligrapher and teacher, Hazel has recently completed the MA Creative Writing at the University of the Witwatersrand. To date, her poems have appeared in Carapace, Jewish Affairs, Jewish Quarterly, Coffee House Poetry and Iota. Hazel's first collection 'Drawing from Memory' will be published by Cinnamon Press (UK) in 2007. EMAIL: comments@moondance.org