In brilliant gas light I turn the kitchen spigot and watch the water plash into the clean white sink. On the grooved drain-board to one side is a glass filled with parsley -- crisped green. Waiting for the water to freshen -- I glance at the spotless floor --: a pair of rubber sandals lie side by side under the wall-table all is in order for the night. Waiting, with a glass in my hand -- three girls in crimson satin pass close before me on the murmurous background of the crowded opera -- it is memory playing the clown -- three vague, meaningless girls full of smells and the rustling sound of cloth rubbing on cloth and little slippers on carpet -- high-school French spoken in a loud voice! Parsley in a glass, still and shining, brings me back. I take my drink and yawn deliciously. I am ready for bed. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SURFACES AND MASKS; 3 by CLARENCE MAJOR LAUS INFANTIUM by WILLIAM CANTON IMAGES: 2 by RICHARD ALDINGTON BATUSCHKA by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH AUTUMN MALADE by GUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE THE WIDOW OF GLENCOE by WILLIAM EDMONSTOUNE AYTOUN |