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Watching Marguerite


Studying your face
I am reminded
of the frayed
sad faces
of courtly lovers
in old tapestries,
whose eyes,
undimmed by centuries,
betray no pity
for the weakness
of the heart;
it startles me to feel
so great an aching
at your every gesture-
the way you light a cigarette
or stand at the sink dicing carrots
while your hair buries the light.

© Robert Lavett Smith