Folies Bergère
When I told you
it was over, you froze.
Your lips didn’t tremble.
Your lofty nose
released air almost
like a long whisper.
Your gaze was locked
away and your stillness
felt like you were
planning never to rise
from the vintage
chair, with its red
seat and scrolling
wrought iron back.
I stared at the ubiquitous
Manet above the bar
with its busty,
sad bartender.
Avoiding her face,
I studied the champagne
bottles on her right, and tried
to recall the name of the beer
beside them. The one with
the bright triangle on the label.
And on her left,
the still lives of blossoms
and oranges,
above her, the cloudy chandelier
and the crowd
in the mirror behind her,
their faces too blurred
for me to locate us.
Alec Solomita is a writer and artist working in the Boston (USA) area. His fiction has appeared in the Southwest Review, The Mississippi Review, Southword Journal, and Peacock, among other publications. He was shortlisted by the Bridport Prize and Southword Journal. His poetry has appeared in Poetica, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Litbreak, Driftwood Press, Anti-Heroin Chic, The Galway Review, The Lake, and elsewhere, including several anthologies. His photographs and drawings can be found in Convivium, Fatal Flaw, Young Ravens Review, Tell-Tale Inklings, and other publications. He took the cover photo and designed the cover of his poetry chapbook, “Do Not Forsake Me,” which was published in 2017. His full-length poetry book, “Hard To Be a Hero,” was just released by Kelsay Books.
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