To A Certain Woman
I see in your eyes
Black diamonds
Of Hindustan
Figure silks
Of Lahore
Scarlet flames
Of Fuji-Yama
And the flames are there
Brightness
The figured silks there
Dusk
The black diamonds there
Colour
I see in your heart
Yellow cobras
Of Burma
Deadly fungi
Of Bengal
Poison flowers
Of Nepal
And the poison flowers
Are your vows
The deadly fungi
Your kisses
The yellow cobras
Your deceits
From Caroling Dusk (Harper & Brothers, 1927), edited by Countee Cullen. This poem is in the public domain.