Fable for J.S.

      by Susan Stevens

		“...all are subject to time and mischance.”

					Ecclesiastes 9:11

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell  
where it comes from or where it is going.”

				John 3:8


Your smiling recalls for me
Arthur Lemon’s The Wooing of Daphnis:
She leans languidly against a seated bull
while Chloe stares her helpless from the grass,
his eyes tugging.

Your smile staggers the squall blustering
in your head. There’s stuff in that smile
to run right over “nothing good lasts.” Listen–
I’d charge a toll to keep that smile maintained,
to see the élan whizz from your lips to your eyes.
Now we’re at your eyes. I’m looking 
for a metaphor for eyes–even a mixed one will do.
Something like: you, sitting with your head in your hands
and your eyes on the floor–or your eyes
scuffing through leaves, perhaps.

Do you know what I’m saying? So what kind
of diction suits you? Let’s just say
The Wooing of Daphnis and that grin of yours
are more believable than your anger. Helpless
at times, I have learned from your smile, in my fashion, 
from riot to resurrection.