open your lap to
lust-seducing
grape,

we, the Juliettes
from the Byzantine
wine ship,

nine-hundred amphorae O
wine, not at all suspicious
of the potion,

O true apothecary!  The
wine is quick.  Thus with
a kiss, I live! Act V Scene III,

timbers for the famous
balcony scene, the wood
on the ancient hull,

O Juliet, O Juliet, wherefore
art thou, Juliet?
Deny thy society, do not
refuse thy name...that which
we call a lavender rose/By
any other word would smell
as sweet,

Juliet leaves Juliet's bedroom
unseen, their lines reasonably
complete and uncorrupted,

Elizabethan audience, I
experiment with dramatic
non-convention that fits
into conventional ideas
about romance,

drunken gossips, superstitious friars,
the instruments of unchastity,
attempting adventure for wished lust,

no mistiming or tragic flaws, Juliets not
depriving themselves of their wedding
night in the name of lawful marriage,

at the end, the idea of seeing who
can build the richer wine ship
seems petty,

nine-hundred amphorae O
wine, not at all suspicious
of the potion,

O true apothecary!  The
wine is quick.  Thus with
a kiss, I live! Act V Scene III.


Copyright 2006 Sage Sweetwater, firebrand lesbian novelist