Study/Scarlet
by Leonard Gonatarek

In the story, two men make love to you simultaneously.
Their tans, artificial, apricot. You are punished for this.
Tied to a tree & whipped. How dreams are like old movies.
In the story you pore over miniature paintings. Autumn decants from the trees.

The world is made up of little stories.
Pond, dark, inlaid with gold & scarlet leaves.

Leonard Gontarek is the author of St. Genevieve Watching Over Paris, Van Morrison Can't Find His Feet, Zen For Beginners and Deja Vu Diner (Autumn House Press, 2006). His poems have appeared in The Best American Poetry, Joyful Noise! An Anthology of American Spiritual Poetry, American Poetry Review, Blackbird, BlazeVox, Pool, Field, and as a tattoo. He has been nominated five times for the Pushcart Prize. He received poetry fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts in 1994 and 2004. He conducts poetry workshops at The University City Arts League, Robin's Bookstore, and in the Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership.

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