Portrait in Georgia
By Jean Toomer
Hair–braided chestnut,
coiled like a lyncher’s rope,
Eye–fagots,
Lips–old scars, or the first red blisters,
Breath–the last sweet scent of cane,
And her slim body, white as the ash
of black flesh after flame.
Copyright Credit: Jean Toomer, "Portrait in Georgia" from Cane. New York: Boni & Liveright, 1923. Public Domain.
Source: Cane (Boni & Liveright, 1923)