Epithalamium for Ancient Friend
Innas Tsuroiya

I open the misty salute with a caveat
that I had never trained as a painter.
The dreamy scene remains however,

caged only in something as fickle
as language, forgotten the next day.
How groom also refers to stableboy

might crack you up, velvet tux & all,
that eye-shutting howl. Quick glance
at her shiny red-hot pelt could dictate

the evening sitter, or the bridal air.
Regards from last brushstrokes: why,
yes, a wildcat would espouse his ilk.

Innas Tsuroiya is a writer living in Indonesia who works across poetry, criticism, translation, fiction, and divination. Her work can be found in C Magazine, Protean Magazine, ArtReview Asia, Artforum, among others.