Cleopatra Girl
by Matthew Stokdyk
My Cleopatra girl,
who dies and dies again,
with flesh as white as pearls,
who under death will always strain.
And who am I, your love,
clown as fool as the rest,
a raven to a dove,
who yet is asp upon your breast?
Originally published in the Daily Cardinal on August 14th, 2017.
This bit of doggeral is perhaps better understood if you have read the part of Antony and Cleopatra that I am alluding to. A Shakespearean meaning of “to die,” also, is “to orgasm,” if that provides the necessary context.