Cindy Duhe - My, How Things Change

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Cindy
Duhe

Contest
winners
Jan-Jun
1999

Honorable Mention, Webstatic Poetry Contest, Jan - Jun 1999

My, How Things Change

Warm were the summer days that took hold of us
like a bear trap on an unsuspecting hunter’s leg.
You told me how beautiful I was,
over a picnic with grapes and bologna sandwiches,
which attracted less ants than your compliments.
Into my eyes, you held the sole of my wit
and the force of my soul hostage,
beating and burning far from certainty,
as my skin you caressed.
Over champagne in those little juice glasses
you popped “The” question
of eternal bliss with moments spent, like these,
until the end of our days.
With one hesitant ponderance and sigh,
we kissed, as you sucked the breath
and life from my essence.
White wedding, toasted future, scorched plans,
in the blink of my batting eyelash,
you no longer think of me as the beautiful siren
which reigned over your heart . . .
but, instead, I’ve become the pauper
with the toilet brush,
scrubbing and rubbing your back,
while you insult my declining figure
and yell out orders,
the captain of a ship,
that is slowly sinking to the bottom
of the once tranquil and loving
sea.

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