A Woman Remembers
Reflections – there are plenty of those here:
light reflects from the marble top;
bottles of liquor, ruby, deep blue,
the fruit bowl sheds colour and scent of orange.
Behind is the huge miroir, smooth and unruffled as water
and the great chandelier, almost opaque mother-of-pearl.
I can see Hélène in the front row
wearing her cream dress and black hat,
her hair caught up in the new pleated style -
you wouldn't think we were girls from the same village!
Behind her, of course, is Monsieur, her shadow
who controls her now. He is often here when
Helene is not, leaving his white roses at the bar.
Memories – j'ai beaucoup
unfurling to a time in our village
when winter had come early.
I was testing the pond for skating,
eleven or twelve years old;
the second-hand skates too big.
I remember the milk-silver curls
and loops of my own movement,
the pond a jewelled oval like glass,
the evergreens' double foliage.
Then I saw Monsieur
'Ici, Marie-Claire', he called softly;
alone in the silence no one heard my fear
as he dared the ice, unbuttoning
Memories – I have too many.
Page(s) 25
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