Tuesday, June 12, 2007

The Other



We find the lady at her vanity,
suspicion curling through her like smoke
fingering a field of burning straw.
Beyond her silked shoulder she can see
the rough delineation of the joke
life’s become: a man with wood to saw.

He was seeing someone else, she knew.
The visage in her mirror proved the case,
not perfume or foreign lingerie;
her own reflection whispered it was true:
the evidence was written in her face.
One could only look, and look away.

But one was not defenseless, not at all.
One was not without some wherewithal;
in ranked amphorae full of tincts and scents
were charms to philtre time’s impertinence.
“Coming, Hon?” he yawns, patting the duvet.
“A sec,” she hears the other woman say.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear John,

I see that you love poetry. Are you interested in historical fiction, too?

Would you like to review a new historical on your blog? In A Tendering in the Storm a spirited woman of the 1850s struggles to ensure her family’s survival and comes to terms with her own issues of pride and independence. Please respond to this query by June 18 and include your mailing address to receive a complimentary copy of the book. Thanks.

Kelly Blewett
kblewett@randomhouse.com

PS We also publish Jim Henderson, creator of OffTheMap.org :).

Unknown said...

Watch it, John. The bodice rippers are after you!

John said...

Eek.