Nude Descending a Staircase

Toe upon toe, a snowing flesh,

A gold of lemon, root and rind,

She sifts in sunlight down the stairs

With nothing on. Nor on her mind.

We spy beneath the banister

A constant thresh of thigh on thigh—

Her lips imprint the swinging air

That parts to let her parts go by.

One woman waterfall, she wears

Her slow descent like a long cape

And pausing, on the final stair,

Collects her motions into shape.

X.J. Kennedy

From Cross Ties: Selected Poems (University
of Georgia Press, 1985), copyright (c) 1985
by X. J. Kennedy. For permission to reprint,
transmit by internet, or for any other purpose,
address Curtis Brown Ltd., Ten Astor Place,
New York, NY 10003.