VICTORIAN IMAGES

Politely
She had learned to smile
And tilt her head
When gentlemen spoke;
Pretending
Not to understand
Too much of what she knew
Men thought of as important.
Ever mindful of the difficulties
She presented
By being so attractive
And distracting,
She took special efforts
For men to see her
In the kitchen -
Reminding them of mother -
Child relationships
they had read about in stories
Written by other men.

Ken Siegelman
Brooklyn Poet Laureate