ROSIE MAE

rosie mae could make your heart
do a triple somersault
even as she sat and slurped
her double chocolate malt
with legs as long as trees are tall
and hair as dark as coal
she made men weep and cry out for more

now rosie used her comeliness
in ways we can’t conceive
it earned her things most others in their lifetime
would not see
she thought the love she felt was true
but later on she found
she broke hearts faster than grass grows on the ground

rosie mae bats her long dark eyelashes
and motions to a boy down the row
she tells him "lover, you’d best pay attention"
he said "Miss Rosie, that’s all i can afford"

she took one too many from the candy jar aplenty
and though her eyes were starry her soul was empty

of course we all know how fate works
rosie did not age well
she didn’t have the friends or funds
to keep youth in her still
yet every night she wheels down to her favorite cafe
where she wearily removes her teeth
to eat her diet plate

rosie mae fumbles with her false eyelashes
not noticing one fall to the floor
now the attention paid is rosie mae’s
because that’s all she can afford


© 2003 MJ Bishop