Stephen Devereux
Reclining Nude with Outstretched Arms, 1917
He took me from the street and gave me wine.
I took off my clothes and lay as he said.
I waited for a man’s bulk to press down
On me, but it did not come. Instead
He looked hard at me and began to draw.
I was not surprised. He was too handsome
To ever need the services of my sort.
I stayed for hours and before I went home
He said that he hadn’t finished it yet
And wanted me every day of that week!
He paid me more than I could ever get
On the street. And then he got rid of me.
I think of him as I lay with my johns.
The enemy guns sound louder each day
And the boys that I once knew are gone.
Now I do it with cripples who won’t pay.
I never found out what became of him
Or whether anyone bought the painting.
Page(s) 60
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