I remember
when you looked like Gina Lollobrigida
although perhaps the housewife version
your slender waist accented with a hand-stitched apron
and low-heeled pumps even in the kitchen

singing
a favorite Sinatra hit at the sink
washing dishes as if it were a duty
but every once in a while ... slipping
into a far away glance over the green formica table

It's all so long ago and I wonder
how many of us
remember Gina Lollabrigida
Mario Lanza
or Topo Gigio singing "Funiculi-Funicula"
How many of us remember you with red lipstick
and bright clip-on ruby earings

I remember
your lazy eye
and how it drooped
and how beautiful you were


jeannerené 2.28.2014