Dressing in the Dark
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUP- Dressing in the Dark
It's wonderfully new,this predawn ritual,this purposeful silencealmost like prayer—
to dress with her therein our darkened room,gentle out a dresser drawer,shuffle into underwear,
high-step into slacks,thumb buttons into holes,drop the wingtipsto the hardwood floor,
then slip the silk upsnug to a crisp collarand twirl it to two loopsfolded over and knotted,
not quite perfect withoutthe light and mirror,but all the more pleasingfor the imperfection.
Finally—she waits for it—cupped coins and keys droppedto a wool pocket,a hand at the small
of her back, a kiss,sometimes a bit more,then footfalls fading, andthe door, carefully closed. [End Page 608]
BURT MYERS has had work published recently in Measure, First Things, and Birmingham Poetry Review. He works as an art director in upstate New York.
