Wednesday, July 3, 2024

Pursed lips in a dark street April 9, 2012


 
She put the napkin

 on the rim of her glass

to tell the bartender

we would be back,

 a tiny smudge in the corner,

 a stain of lipstick to match

 the smudge on the glass,

 like two sets of lips

 embraced in an ever lasting kiss,

while outside,

in the still chill of the end of winter,

 she draws deep draughts

from the cigarette

she says she hopes to quit,

 lipstick smudging

the filter as she inhales,

while I watch her every move,

 the fingers, the lips,

 the billows of smoke

that rise around her face,

adding mystery to her already

 mysterious eyes,

all of her surrounded by

 the darkness of the street,

 weak bar light emphasizing

 the purse of her lips,

the glint in her eyes

the long fingers

lifting the cigarette

 to her face

again and again and again.

email to Al Sullivan

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