As unstained white

snow, cool and bright,

she kept whispering dahling, come to me

till I caressed,

half-kissed, then dressed

her in prints of jet and ebony

that in this form

she might keep warm

and entertain for posterity.

But at what cost!

She has just lost

her invaluable virginity

without a sound

that I be found,

or at the very least might be.

James B. Nicola’s poems have appeared in the Antioch, Southwest and Atlanta Reviews; Rattle; and Barrow Street. His seven full-length collections (2014-22) are Manhattan Plaza, Stage to Page, Wind in the Cave, Out of Nothing, Quickening, Fires of Heaven, and Turns & Twists (just out). His nonfiction book Playing the Audience won a Choice award. His poetry has received a Dana Literary Award, two Willow Review awards, Storyteller's People's Choice award, one Best of Net, one Rhysling, and eight Pushcart nominations—for which he feels both stunned and grateful. A graduate of Yale and returning contributor to Quibble, he hosts the Hell's Kitchen International Writers' Round Table at his library branch in Manhattan: walk-ins welcome.