Harmonium (Stevens)/O, Florida, Venereal Soil
Appearance
O, Florida, Venereal Soil
A few things for themselves,Convolvulus and coral,Buzzards and live-moss,Tiestas from the keys,A few things for themselves,Florida, venereal soil,Disclose to the lover.
The dreadful sundry of this world,The Cuban, Polodowsky,The Mexican women,The negro undertakerKilling the time between corpsesFishing for crayfish . . .Virgin of boorish births,
Swiftly in the nights,In the porches of Key West,Behind the bougainvilleas,After the guitar is asleep,Lasciviously as the wind,You come tormenting,Insatiable,
When you might sit,A scholar of darkness, Sequestered over the sea,Wearing a clear tiaraOf red and blue and red,Sparkling, solitary, still,In the high sea-shadow.
Donna, donna, dark,Stooping in indigo gownAnd cloudy constellations,Conceal yourself or discloseFewest things to the lover—A hand that bears a thick-leaved fruit,A pungent bloom against your shade.