by RIKKI SANTER
— for Lee Alexander McQueen (1969-2010)
winnow through the cut, armadillos to anchor
bold fruit & smirk’s purity. He cinched with a final
belt the knot of his notable, fragile buccaneer’s
scent still nesting in the hides of his dogs.
Long live alien stilettos, shoulder beaks,
blood sighing beneath beaded tattoos.
Tight tight corseted bravado, far-from-fine
lace, the asymmetrical & the ravaged all luxed
for live performance. Opera in the next sequined
dress tarnished & distressed. Couture his anti-thesis,
sullen wings sprouted after a lost mother, his last
note blooming on a weary copy of The Descent
of Man fringed with orphaned threads, his riddle
for the bite & the bruise.
From Issue 5
RIKKI SANTER’s work has appeared in various publications including Ms. Magazine, Poetry East, Slab, Crab Orchard Review, RHINO, Grimm, Hotel Amerika and The Main Street Rag. Her work has received many honors including five Pushcart and three Ohioana book award nominations as well as a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her eighth collection, Drop Jaw, inspired by the art of ventriloquism, was published this spring by NightBallet Press.