An Alfresco Toilette

 

An Alfresco Toilette

 

 

 

Unpinned, the flame about your head released

Lights up the day with burnished, golden tone.

Such beauty, maid, to you is merely leased

In transience that cannot be set in stone.

 

With sibling love she combs each silken tress,

Beneath the spiralled form of ancient vine.

Tonight maybe, some young man will caress

Your crowning glory’s sensual, sinuous line.

 

Enjoy the moment’s passion, may it be

To you a fond remembrance that will last

Into your memory’s maturity,

When youth’s gold’ bloom from that fair tress has passed,

 

For time, my dear, is never left behind

And age has no intention to be kind.

 

                       JLB.

 

 

Picture: An Alfresco Toilette – Luke Fildes

Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight, Wirral.

 

 

 

Reviews

[R J Askew]

I like this. It is a wonderful picture and the mass of hair is glorious. The poet seems to be part of the picture, perhaps a grand-father looking on, acutely aware of his own age. The wording of the poem feels spot on and I like the sting in the tail, which, while being wise and true is not too punishing. There is balance in the poem as the frist 12 lines celebrate the girl's beauty.

[emmajoy]

Flippant reaction on the final lines of this wonderfully created post is... ' age is but a number and, if you d on't like the number, cheat! '

N ow for t he more serious comment : What you've written is smooth and silky, flo ws like rippling satin. There's a mix of the traditional and more modern form which I truly appreciate.

Remembering is part of life, allowing people, places and experiences to become part of one's spirit,

'For time, my dear, is never left behind // And age has no intention to be kind.' What a statement in those two lines, quite pessimistic which defies the belief that age brings knowledge mixed with a devil-may-care attitude of the ' i'm d one with obeying restrictive rules now, now, now, I can fly with the eagle'

No matter age, everyone should fly with the eagle, it's never too late, never, NEVER.

Wonderful w ords, phrases; thank you for letting me share them