Little Carmen

Inspired by Nabokov's "Lolita"

Driving through deserts

Cheap motels with thin walls,

Thinner pretexts

Fleeing invisible judgment

As white socks slip down thin

Cinnamon ankles, a wandering hand

Reaches over to claim its ill-gotten prize

 

Father, not father

He has long forgotten the safety

Of fidelity, the convenience

Of a well-made façade:

With the cars, the bars,

And the movie stars in her

Trashy magazines

 

Lo and behold,

Behold Lo

But do not hold her

Not you, old man

Your love is amiss,

A grotesque,

Impossible fantasy

 

You dare to touch an innocence

That cannot be untouched

What is to be done

With you?