Ma Yongbo, black and white image, Beijing, 1999
under the jacket
there is a vault of black,
but it’s not a cliché
(not his heart)
only it is sharp, a sharpness
the razor is only the edge of it
that a man dressed this smart
might be both black and grey
and the black might not be as dark,
so says his hair, speaking with a darker voice
to the side of his face in the sun
Helen Pletts
.