Briseis Takes A Break from Rehearsal

A Work in Progress
126

She was his intellectual equal there’s no doubt

He tended to fat with his fondness for stout

Briseis was describing H.D. and Aldington: 

It’s easy to see why he’d fall for me

We have an affinity

They met in tea rooms where they could sit and talk

All very platonic but Aldington’s avatar claims he

Slid his hand up under my skirt, just imagine

It was in the tearoom at the British Museum

Ezra sat beside me with his hand on my thigh

Aldington across from me with if you can believe it

One elbow on the table while he reached below it

I was against a wall so nobody could see

And I was used to being petted by Ezra

It meant little to me ‘cept his hand went higher

Encountering Ezra’s hand inner thigh, o my

Excuse me I said Ezra says you write free verse

He’d withdrawn his hand, so Ezra explored further

So please show me and let’s have Ezra edit it

He needs something to do with both of his hands

I was quite stirred as he was so young and up for it

He plucked poems from pocket, asking did the trick

Ezra taking out his red pencil to correct

While my toe stroked Richard’s thigh finding his prick

Well, that’s how it’s scripted in our new play

He was nineteen she six years older

She was long legged he was still growing

We haven’t scripted the next scene yet

Dick Russell © Richard M Russell

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