All Acts of Beauty Hide Something
Saba Khaliq
All acts of beauty hide something
In the bargain of stealing all kinds of eyes
As long as one can keep Time waiting backstage
All acts of beauty are smooth cover-ups
On the artist’s table was a rotten apple
Its hideous skeletal skin
Sucking my delicious apple-eating memories
In my electrified hand was a photograph
Sepia, dog-eared, washed beyond recognition
And they called it an ugly aesthetic
All acts of beauty nauseate the unslept
Driving round the earth
Burying purpled moles – flashed and unwarmed