The Sand Hill Review               http://www.sandhillreview.org 2011

On a Photograph of Leonard and Virginia Woolf

Such noses –

what negotiations a kiss must have taken,

like the crossing of swords before a duel.

At 12, I wanted such a nose and would pinch

my nasal cartilages for hours.

When I saw the great nose of Stewart Granger

tack across the silver screen, I realized

such majesty was beyond me.

I have quite a decent nose, a good nose, –

maybe, when I was younger and in a flattering light,

a handsome one,

but it’s not a nose for empire.

One could kiss the lips beneath

without worrying about being wounded,

at least by the nose.

Nils Peterson