Lit Heroes #17 - Chingachgook

Skin is sheer beauty. Armor's sheer beauty.
But is armor any trustworthier than mere naked skin?
Phryne was safe under her blushing nude, Percival beneath
__________________________________red armor
Disconcerting Chingachgook prospered steel-clad in that
____________________________ hardy copper pelt.

Peeling a fruit, you may find sweetness
But don't dare flay the beast alive, unless you will encounter
__________________________________fierceness.

Is there any mere live skin, or sparkling armor without skin
________________________________underneath?

Skin or armor, they are both like one's triteness
A dateless longing that safeguards best.
On this slick surface of ours though surely not flush with
__________________________________ourselves
A most noble gloss of a model indeed
Quite everything runs off.

So, where can I now find my Aphrodite of Cnidus?
Where the least of Arthur's champions? Where the faintest
__________________________________Mohican?
If there ever has been any, beauty alone must have missed
___________________________________her aim.

July 18, 2007