Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, FLAMES LIGHT UP THE ROUGH WALLS AND EARNEST FACES, by JANE MILLER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

FLAMES LIGHT UP THE ROUGH WALLS AND EARNEST FACES, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: With none among the travelers about you
Last Line: A little chapel in a housedress of windless pink dawn
Subject(s): Alienation (social Psychology); Dinners & Dining; Housekeeping; Housewives; Estrangement; Outcasts


With none among the travelers about you
to exchange words with
you hurry though it is foolish to do so
doors ajar windows open
the lake the pond the sea the dream
the organdy tablecloth unfolds
you hold up the matching napkins and open
what you have washed ironed folded and refolded
out of respect away from the crease sixty years
steady again our silver chalice infrequent guest
lower over the stemware reflect in the pool of
spoons now you would have and illustrate
the significance of knives oiled and of the clarified
vases and of linen finished in lace
under no inspection but the moon's
and return them to the wicker cage
fronting the mahogany hutch
you whitened to assuage the fashion
little else in the home is gilded
two painted mallards stare past their frames
above the radio assaying one another's
round brown eyes and brown and white feathers
in this condominium constructed by indifferent men
with indifferent plans wither not nor weather nor wear down
the single space it has no significance only that
the young mind recuperating language
which repeats without adjudication
shall have none of it and eventually best you
ghosting your watery shoulder
a little chapel in a housedress of windless pink dawn





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