with the Romanian gypsy woman
whose waist length black hair
and black lustered eyes
mesmerizes my attention.
I breathe backward.
She, of the white flowing blouse,
which can barely contain
her ample breast girth
and the silk black skirt
all wrinkled and
dirt ridden at the bottom,
directs me to cleanse all
all elements of envy
from my stained spirit.
As she pours the jet black tea,
her emancipated eyes sparkle.
(Lovely Bird image provided by Christopher J Ananias)
R. Gerry
Love the images this brings to mind, especially the emancipated eyes. I can see her perfectly, by the stroke of a few words.
Leila
LikeLike
R. Gerry
This is a wonderful character sketch poem and I agree with Leila, “emancipated eyes” is a great turn of phrase. The combination of abstract and concrete here fit each other perfectly. And it says a ton about humanity in general because I believe that some people do indeed have EMANCIPATED EYES, while on the other hand far, far, far, far, FAR too many of us are wearing blindfolds or have blinders on – and without even knowing it.
This poem also has a wonderful doubling effect, as it says just as much about the speaker of the poem as it does about the fortune teller. I think there are two characters in this poem with emancipated eyes (or an open-hearted spirit). We desperately need such life-affirming work in these desperate times.
Dale
LikeLike
I can see Elvira like this–ample, beautiful, certainly free. I like the witchy quality. Powerful images!
LikeLiked by 1 person