SEDUCTRESS

Daguerreotype perched on tripod,
photographer holds customized pan aloft
and carefully ignites the Blitzlicht,
as he removes the lens cap
for the required period.

He replaces it,
but still she remains,
her inverse shoulderstand perplexing him,
her arched spine and trousered legs
aping the floral pattern
on the modesty-screen behind her:
plucked bloom in her hair
and painted face
merging with inked nature.

He smiles at her calm regard.
What is the symbolism?
he asks in poor Mandarin.

Voice unaffected by exotic pose,
she whispers:
I am your flower.