From the chaise longue, where he pretended to nap,
he observed her quietly as she stitched and stitched
in the scant light filtering in through the window.
Soon darkness would swallow what was left of the
light and become too dark to continue. How perfectly
natural she sat– humming softly to herself, eyebrows
drawn, lips pursed in that melancholy way women
purse their lips when they concentrate. He could see
she was enraptured doing the very thing she wanted
to do in the quiet of the evening. He could almost feel
the little bird of her mind flitting from one idea to
another as she compared colored yarns against the
white linen. And now, as if wanting to ask his opinion,
she turned, and finding him awake and watching her, she
soon put down her needlework, made one of those loose
lax poses that come naturally to her, and at once smiled
and stretched out her arms to him.
© selma
About Portrait of a Woman with Tapestry Work
Style of Jean-Baptiste Jacques Augustin French
Museum of Modern Art. Public domain
https://www.metmuseum.org/
AUTHOR’S BIO: Selma Martin is a retired English teacher with 20 years of teaching children ESL. She believes in people’s goodness and in finding balance in simple living. She lives in Japan with her husband. In 2018, Selma participated in a networking course whose final lesson was to publish a story on Amazon. After many failed attempts, she completed the course and self-published her short story, "Wanted: Husband/Handyman," in 2019. Later, collaborating with peers from that course, she published "Wanted: Husband/Handyman" in Once Upon A Story: A Short Fiction Anthology. Selma has published articles and poems on Medium since 2017; she has a story in Short Fiction Break, 2017, and poetry in The Poetorium At Starlight, 2022, MasticadoresUSA, and Spillwords. After her first NaPoWriMo 2021, Selma writes poetry on her website, selmamartin.com, and is struggling to garner the courage to publish a book soon. You can find Selma, selmawrites, on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
This poem was written for
GloPoWriMo 2023,
Off prompt.
To see the
optional prompt:
For Day Thirteen
Thanks so much for reading, and happy national poetry writing month.
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That was beautiful, Selma. Have fun gallivanting!
Thanks, Holly. Blessings.
Beautiful story
So happy you did. Thanks, sweetly.
Such a evocative and vivid scene described in your poem.
You liked it, then?! Aww. Warms my insides. XoXo
I do indeed.
Enjoy the time spent with your bestie! Happy travels!
Thanks so much, trE. I’m in Osaka for a few days. Thanks for reading and commenting. Blessings.
You’re most welcome!
captivating write! ❣️👏👏
Aww. Thanks sincerely. Blessings.
Pleasure! 💗
such a cosy image your words draw… lovely, Selma🤍
Cozy. Yes. I was going for that. Glad you enjoyed it, Destiny. I bless you. Xoxo
This read quite smoothly and romantically. I loved it, Selma!
Yvette M Calleiro 🙂
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
Aww, Yve. You rock, lady. Thanks. XoXo
Beautiful loving story 👌
Very nice write you. Interesting story.
I love this, Selma. Well done. 🙂
So powerful! Vivid imagery was there, I could see the scene in front of my eyes…
Or maybe I wish I could have lived it?
They’re both lucky!
XO
This was so captivating. Loved every line.🤩