Melvin B. Tolson 1898–1966: Delta (excerpt)

Art

is not barrel copper easily separated

from the matrix;

it is not fresh tissues

—for microscopic study—

one may fix;

unique as the white tiger’s

pink paws and blue eyes,

Art

leaves her lover as a Komitas

deciphering intricate Armenian neums,

with a wild surmise.

Melvin Tolson, "Delta" from Harlem Gallery and Other Poems of Melvin B. Tolson (Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia, 1999)