The Fair Miss Grant

The fair Miss Grant
sat on the beach facing at
the maximum angle that would
allow her the benefit of
the most direct sun.

She was, after all, an opportunist
at heart. Some might call her
unscrupulous but she considered
herself to be simply resourceful,

and those who thought otherwise
were just namby pamby little prisses
who didn't permit themselves to live
beyond their bourgeois boundaries of safety.

Immune today to ill thoughts
and to the scare tactic
reports on skin cancer she lathered
herself up in a fine oil that came in
its expensive jar and prepared to
roast herself to perfection.

She folded any and all unpleasantness
into small neat origami squares
and filed them away under killjoy. She
was, after all, known for always seeing the
bright side of things.

The day was clear and the
wind was pleasant. The ocean
seemed to join the ends of the
earth permitting her to daydream
about faraway places,

but her attention
span was short and she reached
for a nice cold draft from a small keg
she had sequestered away in her very chic cooler.
She repeated this exercise frequently over the course
of the day.

Subsequent hours were spent baking and
getting baked and as the sun began to hang
low in the sky and the ocean breeze
brought a chill it finally forced
the fair Miss Grant to gather up her things.

Now she would head out
to eat a delectable meal
of grilled fish and vegetables at a local
seaside establishment. They always put
the fair Miss Grant in the window to showcase
her loveliness for those lucky enough to walk by.

Perhaps had the fair Miss Grant spent less time
baking and getting baked she would have been
able to maneuver her gas guzzling behemoth of
a car out of the parking lot, but instead while she
gazed at her newly browned visage
she sailed directly into a ditch.

When they pulled her and her vehicle from a most
awkward angle the fair Miss Grant was pleased.
She looked forward to when they took her
mug shot. She hoped that it would capture her
perfectly shaded skin kissed
with an ever so slight hint of red,

she knew she would
be the envy of all the pasty faced
denizens currently languishing
at the local hoosegow.

It was, she thought, a good day to be her.

Reviews

[Frieda P]

I resembled Miss Grant a long time ago, whilst much younger on a beach in a far off land, hopefully Miss Grant might wake up someday too...before it's too late! I really like the message in this one, you've outdone yourself!

[icelandicblue]

Hi Frieda,

Then it seems you have done a 180 because your poetry is so deep- whereas Miss Grant is only skin deep. Youth can be a time of shallow hedonism which most outgrow and when they don't it's just sad. Thanks for reading.

[Frieda P]

Well hopefully that time of youth allows us to make those mistakes, with any luck at all, we move on from that shallow existence, although I'm sure we all know plenty of people that are still stuck there. My pleasure always....
oh, and thanks for that.

[Creepy Swine Guy]

hmmmmmmmm the fair Miss Grant reminds me of any number of teenagers I have encountered. "Live for the next 30 seconds!" is their motto, which does not leave room for planning, or saving ... or in this case, not going to the hoosegow.

[icelandicblue]

Live for the next 30 seconds- basically is the thinking of a gnat. Love that Creepy Swine Guy. Thanks so much for reading.

[Distant horizons]

Ah, to be perfect. I'm amazed some people manage to get anything done. I mean, it must be so distracting for them, every time they pass a mirror they freeze in self adoration. maybe we could build an island of mirrors for them and dump them all on that :-)

[icelandicblue]

Perhaps mirror shards- it will be harder for them to see themselves. I like the way your mind works Lorry!

[Distant horizons]

When it works :-)

[R. L. Ives]

Oh the shallow and self-absorbed, may they be ever oblivious. What would we do without them? Once again, I viewed this as much as read it. And your Miss Grant will one day resemble Mary's Magdala. Lol

[icelandicblue]

Without them who could we make fun of? Thanks RL I always look forward to your reviews.

[R. L. Ives]

You're welcome. I look forward to reading your new work.

[Carnation]

Very nice poem. Please keep sending read requests to me.

[icelandicblue]

Thanks for reading.