My masterpiece

I’m at the Venus de Milo

though I could be anywhere

with eyes fixed to the girls around

who make a good name for design and creation

and who see me seeing them

so maybe later

after we talk about art

and I finangle fact after fact

and I tell them about the smooth back of marble

which is only second to mine

I can put them up on a pedestal

tell them to take some shape

or pose

or just use those hairless arms

that some statues take for granted

to hug or handle or hold

and they laugh and ask like this

and I take a full view around the masterpiece

to ensure the piece is set

tsking and hmming and mumbling

something about this not being right

touching a hip or an elbow

moving a knee or toe

and hoping to lift a skirt

to see some underwear

and tell them that we did it

our careers have become solid

for we have made the first statue

that has a more beautiful inside than out

that needs no further shaping or recasting or moulding

that is rock and rock and rock and hard

though that may just be because

I also see her bum

when the underwear slips