He split you in two when he made love to you
And then nailed you together again.
He spoke his language to you
And fed you his food,
Kissing the belly where it lay.
And when you were with him,
You were no longer a foreigner
But had a country, a nationality
That was him.
Most nights found you
Wandering down the dirt road
In the Brazilian heat
Wearing the crown of
Perfumed flowers-
“Lady of the night”-
That he made for you.
In the middle of the circle of fighters
You faced his wife,
Stared into her dark eyes
Her beautiful face,
And then tumbled against her in the dirt.
He clapped and sang and smiled
While you two women
With identical teeth marks on your breasts
Sweated against each other’s skin.
And she never knew that
You let her win,
That you just couldn’t bring yourself to beat her.