Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE DEATH OF A MISTRESS, by MILTON RAISON


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE DEATH OF A MISTRESS, by                    
First Line: Slowly she sips the poison from the cup
Last Line: So even after death no one may doubt her.
Subject(s): Death; Dead, The


Slowly she sips the poison from the cup
And flings it crashing to the marble floor;
That is her last insult to Fate, no more
These graceless outbursts at the summing up.
Then languidly she lies back on the bed
And most adroitly bares her knee and breast,
Sets a coquettish angle to her head
So those who find her in her final rest
Should feel the lure of living flesh, the breath
Of breathless possibilities -- not death.
Then artfully she takes great pains to close
Her lips like petals on a drooping rose.
She shuts her eyes, and curls her arms about her --
So even after death no one may doubt her.





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