Mariya

Mariya

That was not Mariya

jumping for his camera
in the noon-day sun,
her lithe limbs teasing
the dress along her thigh.

Certainly not Mariya

dancing down the street
alive to hidden music,
kicking off her heels,
her hair set free.

I tell you not Mariya

baring naked shoulders
on a late summer night
a way along the river
in the arms of her lover.

I swear that's not Mariya

so charming, dear, and lovely,
pressed back against the willow,
whose pious lips would never
kiss a man like that like that!