A Red Cherry on a White-tiled Floor presents a selection of poems from two book-length sequences which, when combined, create a unified discussion of the conundrum of human desire. Al-Massri deftly, and with coy generosity, reveals the lion in the lamb and the lamb in the lion. These poems mix submissive and rebellious energy to reveal men and women who are at once crushingly naïve and stunningly resilient.