My Dance Card’s Full

By Patty Butkovich

Gautier MS

 

When viewed from afar, she’s gorgeous

Her face a swirl of fluffy white clouds

Gliding so gracefully round one dark eye

Beneath this guise of innocence -

A Jezebel’s demonic strength.

 

No one waits for the party to start!

Her dance floor is slowly cleared

As big lumbering paint chipped working boats

Beside sleek polished pleasure craft big and small

All decline her attempts to seduce.

 

This wanton Jezebel dances steadily over the water

Rebellious, intimidating to those in her grasp

One slap of a long watery arm

Snaps lines, rips cleats right out of a deck

Smashing with fury relentless into the seawall unyielding.

 

All seek to be wallflowers now,

As she swirls around the once straight pines

Unwilling partners, they twist and turn and bow to the ground

Splintering in the roar of her wild embrace

This harlot’ll have her own way as long as her strength holds out.

 

It’s gloomy down here in the closet ‘neath the stairs

The hands on my watch seem reluctant to move

As a furious Hurricane Isabel, rages around outside.

She could lift off the roof with just one little flick

Of a long, dark, twisting, frenzied finger.

 

Then it all abates, quite suddenly, in the vacuum of her eye

Each cautious step outside is taken as though

She is hiding, watching, ready to start her wild dance again.., with me.

The house has suffered a few scratches and bruises

And she has spared some of the trees, but not leaves or limbs.

 

There on the leeward side of the house

I spy a tiny gray bird. It’s very still and so calm.

It appears unhurt, but doesn’t fly from my touch.

 

Stay put little bird ....

 

for we’ve seen only half!

 

Return to Winning Entries 04