“Georgia O’Keeffe Never Painted Vaginas”

By Delaney Burk

“Georgia O’Keeffe Never Painted Vaginas”
~Mara Tupper Burk (1962-2007)

red tulip blooms burst from the earth
pushing through the tiniest of surface spaces

tinted smile to the sky
tulip lips pull
two rows of imperfect coffee-stained teeth
chatter with summertime laughter

red hair and green thumbs
a color-coded pair
she whispers to her flowers
introducing her perennial babies to someone more
permanent

burnt fingertips colored with dirt
pause against rounded flesh
a pair of lips
a softer red
closer to the earth
consume and allow for internal growth

roots and stems
blood and bones
force her belly to bloom
forget-me-not fingers
tiger lily toes
euphorbia eyes
narcissus nose
a flower child born of a mother earth
coaxed from the body with promises of sweet kalmia kisses
and warm hydrangea hugs

i wish you could have seen my face
when i saw the o’keeffe book you got me for my birthday

2 thoughts on ““Georgia O’Keeffe Never Painted Vaginas”

  1. Stephanie Blanks Stevenson says:

    Hello Delaney, I recently went to reunion of friends that I grew up with in Poughkeepsie New York. We reminisced about our childhood and laughed and we counted some of the people that made our growing up so special. I brought up the Tuppers, and I was so sad to hear the news about Mara. I don’t know a lot about what happened but I want you to know that she remains a special in my heart. Please tell her parents and brothers that one of the little Blanks girls reached our to say “hello”

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