Bill Vartnaw will be a featured poet on Tuesday, August 26, during the Listen & Be Heard Radio Open Mic.

3.

 

Armies cross your heart in moonlight.

 

Naked, they can barely stand

 

                                                       the discipline.

Strands of your hair command attention;

 

each gets what it wants,

 

                                             shimmering, at ease

 

around the gravity of your face.

 

There is a call to arms.

 

            I pull you down to me.

 

Tips of your hair tickle my cheeks.

 

I tell you:  the sage has said:  and those who conquer

 

                        conquer because they yield.

 

You whisper in my ear:

 

                                              I know karate.

 

 

 

 

Lines in italics from Tao Te Ching  by Lau Tsu

            translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English