POETRY: Here she comes

Here She Comes (2005)

Tiptoed black stilettos

Click and clack against swirling taupe marble

Resonating in the emptied hallway

There is a hush of murmurs

As she swishes toward the grand hall

Meshed layers of her dress fall onto each other

Twice per step

(Like the crinkling of an old man’s candy wrapper)

Before she enters, she holds her breath, listens and waits

Sticking her taut-braided coif forward

Peering through velvet curtains to see a vacant spot

She creeps past with soft-pitched ‘pardon’s and ‘‘scuse me ma’am’s

Then she may finally lay her petite feet to rest upon the plush carpeted floor

The tension in her wrist resists and falters

She squints quickly at it for its violation at this crucial moment

(Her entrance)