Left her bed--
Lolita thought she was young.

With ancient finery on her back,
A lace mantilla hiding her grey head,
She crept into the warm and alien night.

Her trembling knees remembered the languid pace
Of beauty on adventure bent--her fan
Waved challenges with unforgotten grace.
Cunningly she played her part
For to her peering age
Love was a well-remembered art.

Footsteps followed her--footsteps drew near!
She dropped a rose--hush, he is here!
There came hard arms and a panting kiss--

He felt the fraud of those withered lips,
He cursed and spat--"Was it for this,
You came, old woman, to the park?"
Lolita gathered skirts and fled
Through the dim dark.

Lolita huddles her shawl against the cold,
She sits and mumbles by the fire. In truth
Lolita knows she is old.


The Shining Bird