JOHNMICHAEL SIMON POETRY

This was a woman

who spoke in italics

fingers raised like double tweezers

parallel to her eyes

only her own quotations

went unpunctuated

 

This was a woman

whose lipstick was always severe

whose high heels sounded like those of a queen

her smile was a thin red crease

her eyes and ears were finely tuned

tracking stations scanning the terrain

for spies and informers

 

This was a woman

who treated her husband

with the utmost respect

like an understudy

she memorized his sayings,

his jokes, his favorite lines

when he cheated on her

she stood by his side

never for a second revealing

a hint of what had been,

had not been

or might have been

 

This was a woman

strong as chrome spike

a woman born to be a leader