Elanor

Elanor

Sitting straight up on the
Straight backed
Victorian couch
Straight laced
Straight edged
91 years straight
elanor

stares at the picture on the wall
of dead jack
lost jack
strayed jack
once straight then bent worse than an ironwood in the wind jack

Little elanor sits and sings
Quiet, frail voice
Belying strong memories
Of a song she learned
From her children

Her voice peeking out
In the dark-light room

"Do you want to dance
under the moonlight?"

Remembering black jack
And the big dance
The tux dance
The bride dress dance
The all-eyes dance

"Kiss me baby, hold me so tight"

Spinning around the floor
Alone with her lover
The others receding
Relegated to space
Beyond their secret connection
United as one
In a dance as old as time

"Tell me, do you want to dance?"

The last line of the quiet tune
A sigh as her reflection in the picture glass
Shows too much rouge, too much lipstick
Too bright for loneliness.

One tear splashes against the glass
She turns
And climbs the Everest stairs
To an empty room.