The Age of Elegance

by Dawn Pisturino

Velvet, lace, satin,
Silk, brocade;
Long, billowy dresses
With tight bodices
Cut low and alluring.
Fluttering fans
And white hair piled high
As a snow-capped mountain
On heads delicately balanced
On long, slender necks.

Velvet, lace, satin,
Silk, brocade;
Tight breeches
And tailor-made jackets
Elegantly embellished;
Sheer white stockings
Tightly pulled up the legs;
Pilgrim shoes with shiny brass buckles
And scarlet high heels.
Lacy handkerchiefs,
Gold snuff boxes,
And fans conveying
Secret messages to lady loves
And mistresses already married.

Velvet, lace, satin,
Silk, brocade;
Drawing room comedies,
String quartets,
And illicit love-making
In the gold-leaf box seats,
Hidden by gold-leaf grapevines
And golden bunches of grapes.
The Age of Elegance, indeed,
And the Age of Grace.

Dedicated to the Memory of Marie Antoinette

1980
Copyright 2012Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.