These two poems have been selected from a larger ekphrastic and reverse ekphrastic project between Vi Khi Nao and Christine Shan Shan Hou. Inspired by Public Domain images, the correspondence explores the interstices of art, queerness, and eroticism.
MY POOR CLITORIS
I need to give you a sponge bath
I need to give you my full attention
I need to give you my clitrest,
I need to give you my seat cushion
I need to give you my hassock,
I need to give you my zabuton
I need to give you my cotton cocoon
I need to give you my pillion
I need to give you my soft clump of grass
I need to give you my water bed
Young Leopard Pillow on the Run
I listen to Greek mythologies
And touch myself until I cum
This is me playing with
the precision of language
I arrange my bones neatly
on a pile of rocks
And reach my sexual peak
It’s the combination of fear
And helplessness that
Brings me the most joy
The sea monster licks his lips
Andromeda chained to the rocks
A Gorgan flies overhead sneering
I hold my breath and close my eyes
Place a young leopard pillow
Between my legs for comfort
This is me trying to understand
The mechanical nature of desire
This is me transitioning
Into a half moon
Vi Khi Nao is the author of many books and is known for her work spanning poetry, fiction, play, film, and interdisciplinary collaborations. Her forthcoming novel, The Italian Letters, is scheduled for publication by Melville House in 2024. In the same year, she will release a co-authored manuscript titled, The Six Tones of Water with Sun Yung Shin, through Ricochet. Recognized as a former Black Mountain Institute fellow, Vi Khi Nao received the Jim Duggins, PhD Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize in 2022.
Christine Shan Shan Hou is a poet and visual artist of Hakka Chinese descent. Their publications include the chapbook, Evolution of the Bullet (Bottlecap Press, 2023) written in collaboration with Vi Khi Nao; Playdate (White Columns, 2022); The Joy and Terror are Both in the Swallowing (After Hours Editions 2021); Community Garden for Lonely Girls (Gramma Poetry 2017); and “I'm Sunlight” (The Song Cave 2016). Their artwork has been exhibited at White Columns and Deli Gallery in New York City.