Camille

I am a Black Latina living in LA where I have always felt proud to be who I am. I give back to my community in my work, life and mind.A little poetry for the soul:seduce me by Mayda del Valle-----seduce me./ write me a poem. tell me about the scent of musk at the nape of my neck,/ that you dream of spending sultry summer days between my breasts,/ that if you could taste me,/ it would be mangoes and tropical breezes on your tongue/ keeping you up at 2am/ for weeks,/ staring at black ceilings,/ legs entwined in sheets,/ wiping your brow,/ wondering when the next will be./seduce me./ write me a poem./ drop those weak pick up lines,/ and overwhelm me with quotes from Neruda's 100 love sonnets./ tell me I walk in beauty like the night./ trace the lines in the palm of my left hand./ decipher, then read and whisper their meaning/ to me. tell me my life line crosses your destiny./ imprint your words on me like overnight scratchmarks./ leave butterflies in my stomach/ with honeysuckle syllables/ that remind me of first kisses/ and holding hands at recess./seduce me./ write me a poem/ that prays my name/ and preaches our passion./ chant a litany of our lovemaking to come/ under your breath/ with the faith of withered hands holding rosaries in cathedrals/ until images of us entwined in each other/ burn themselves inside our minds,/ like incense at mass./seduce me./ write me a poem/ with your eyes./ lock glances for a moment/ across a crowded room,/ soft smirk on full lips/ and a slow deliberate blink followed by a flutter of eyelashes/ that says,/ "damn, I wish..."/seduce me./ write me a poem/ with your body./ approach me with the certainty of the tide,/ move to me without doubt or question,/ make me your origin/ and your destination./ let music be the catalyst that lets our bodies meet./ spin me in and out of Conga rhythms./ lead me into a Coltrane wail,/ grind me into the bassline/ of between the sheets.../ then pull me close enough/ to feel our hearts beat together/ when we dance./seduce me./ write me a poem/ that that speaks of our timelessness./ remind me it was you I loved in a past life/ on some faraway continent./ tell me I carry you in my genes,/ that I can't forget you if I tried,/ that our memories are engraved into eternity,/ that time is just a theory to us./seduce me./ write me a poem/ that needs no words./ compose a silent sonnet on soft bare skin,/ where your caress on exposed back/ speaks the syllable I need to hear you,/ a poem/ where melding bodies become/ the book/ where shallow breathing becomes prose,/ where/ you/ seduce me/ and/ inspire me to write you the poem/ that shows you how to love me.