The Cavalier

Stiff white collar 
Edged with lace;
Hand-stitched
Velvet jacket in Royal Blue
Trimmed with braid.
Black trousers and
White hose;
Black shoes and silver buckles;
Crush of white silk 
Tumbling handkerchief;
Tumbling hair 
All glossy auburn curls;
Black hat wide-brimmed with
Graceful feathers.

You stepped back
One leg straight, one bent,
Bowed your body in an
Elegant arc as you
Plucked your hat and
Swept it through the air -
A precision curve -
The feathers of which
Softly brushed the floor.

You looked up 
And all my skin
Dappled with fawn 
And olive gold.

I am flecked and
Beautiful as grass
In Spring, thriving,
My Cavalier, my strange
Being, 
My gracious slim-fingered man.

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