And in the foreground of the portrait:
not your average flayed saint.
Coppered skin, saliva bubbled
with a glimpse of lilac.
Slender Augustan throat,
rising from a
lavender collar.
Governess.
Bee-stung lower lip,
blushed dark with a quick tongue.
Mistress.
Green powerless eyes, gold
freckling the myopic gaze.
Sister.
Severe black mane,
loosening to a hinted luxury.
Perhaps a goddess.