The Standards Line
Beneath ice-tipped oaks,
half-angry, amused, wandering
beside a party of the beautiful —
women in evening sheath and
wrap coats, Chloe satchels, furs;
men at their MacAllan and Maduros.
I come upon her, reading Ferrante
on a daybed, Manhattan
in a chilled tumbler on the floor.
Barefoot, lost in lyrics of
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,
she introduces libraries of
port decanter, heirloom Bible,
framed Manet and Chagall.
By a jadeite lamp, she disrupts a kiss
with a double rye and rocks,
fresh gloss of Tilbury Queen Red.
We concede the moment,
carrying it to a corner of the couch.
Seated for snow’s fall,
the body shifts, my cigar
burns a fine long ash.
Combing out her hair, she hums,
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.
I don’t know how to sit,
what posture to take.
Living in the lyrics,
I’m laughing at myself.
R.T. Castleberry
R.T. Castleberry is a widely published poet and social critic. He is a co-founder of the Flying Dutchman Writers Troupe, co-editor/publisher of the poetry magazine Curbside Review and an assistant editor for Lily Poetry Review and Ardent.
His poetry has appeared in the anthologies: You Can Hear the Ocean: An Anthology of Classic and Current Poetry, TimeSlice, The Weight of Addition, and Level Land: Poetry For and About the I35 Corridor.
A native Texan, he lives, works and dodges hurricanes in Houston, Texas.
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