June Lausch
Candelight
At the staircase she waits for the last door closing,
the last creaking floorboard,
then begins her walk from room to room,
snuffing each candle, turning out lamps.
One spark is all it takes.
In the darkness she becomes the mistress
of the house,
walks grandly through rooms she cleaned today.
The shadow on the wall is her guest arriving,
greeting her, or her dancing partner,
waiting to take her hand and lead her across the floor.
In the sitting room she sees a shawl,
thrown carelessly across a chair.
She picks it up, starts to fold it then stops,
wraps it around her shoulders and unpins her hair.
She stands in candlelight before the mirror,
smiles at her portrait in the gilt frame,
and kicks a stray coal back into the grate.
the last creaking floorboard,
then begins her walk from room to room,
snuffing each candle, turning out lamps.
One spark is all it takes.
In the darkness she becomes the mistress
of the house,
walks grandly through rooms she cleaned today.
The shadow on the wall is her guest arriving,
greeting her, or her dancing partner,
waiting to take her hand and lead her across the floor.
In the sitting room she sees a shawl,
thrown carelessly across a chair.
She picks it up, starts to fold it then stops,
wraps it around her shoulders and unpins her hair.
She stands in candlelight before the mirror,
smiles at her portrait in the gilt frame,
and kicks a stray coal back into the grate.
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Page(s) 43
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