Helen of Milwaukee

(An instant in a hotel elevator)

I saw Helen today.
Eyes blue, black curly hair.
A smile beyond compare.
Skin like translucent light.
Her glance was sweet delight.
Rose petals were her lips.
Voluptuous her round hips.
The contour of her body
To my memory brought
A silken velvet touch
And summer’s sultry heat.

Brief vision of sweet joy,
Fragile as a caress,
Which in a sudden ploy
My senses did obsess.
Daydream of form and color,
Sweet metaphor of love!
Bold Paris and doomed Ilium
And dogged Menelaus
I heartily condone
Because a prize like Helen
Surpasses any throne!
****