By Susan Daniels/Noel Ihebuzor

The overly-perceptive doctor
picks up what I throw down
so easily, transparency
of word, implied action, mistake

the client reclines on the couch
slowly unwinds, shedding layers in
progressive concealment, unknowing
speaking words and signs, opaque yet transparent

every move reveals more
like a dance of seven veils
or a more mundane strip-tease

moves that say more than words
words that conceal and reveal
wrapping moves, yet like an onion unwrapping
a petal unfurling shyly 

every move speaks the unspoken
sign language sublime, speaking the unspeakable
decodable, sublimable, every move a coded code

do I flirt with what is made more naked
or simply strip further with simile,
metaphor, and missed strokes

the concealing covering reveals more
teasing, unmasked disguise more stirring, icons
symbols, metonyms in deepening symphony,

on the keybard, with firm strokes
on the silky electric screen tablet, with soft touches

how…