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Poetry Sunday: Aunt Eudora's Harlequin Romance

My late mother was an avid devourer of romance novels in her later years. Perhaps she had had too little actual romance in her life - a life that was spent in hard work and taking care of others. 

She found escape from all that in her Harlequin romances. She and Aunt Eudora would have understood each other quite well.

Aunt Eudora's Harlequin Romance

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BY MARILYN L. TAYLOR
She turns the bedlamp on. The book falls open 
in her mottled hands, and while she reads
her mouth begins to quiver, forming words 
like Breathless. Promises. Elope.
As she turns the leaves, Eudora's cheek
takes on a bit of bloom. Her frowzy hair 
thickens and turns gold, her dim eyes clear,
the wattles vanish from her slender neck.
Her waist, emerging from its ring of flesh, 
bends to the side. Breasts that used to hang 
like pockets rise and ripen; her long legs 
tremble. Her eyes close, she holds her breath— 
the steamy pages flutter by, unread,
as lover after lover finds her bed.
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Comments

  1. Judy KruegerSeptember 11, 2016 at 9:41 AM

    That poem reads like a fairy tale. Great imagery.

    ReplyDelete
  2. CarmenSeptember 11, 2016 at 1:10 PM

    I like it! It's so evocative. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 11, 2016 at 3:26 PM

      A very short poem but it manages to convey a lot of meaning, doesn't it?

      Delete

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