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Lady in Dismay
by Nancy Ames"This sugar's not sweet;
the milk's watered down;
the coffee's no treat -
it's just coloured brown.
I thought getting older
would be like a meal,
my head on your shoulder,
deliciously real.
Cherries and cake,
with a little whipped cream,
for enjoyment's sake,
as we enter the dream.
But I'm helpless and lonely
and everything's hard,
and food arrives only
when I'm nice to the guard.
It seemed to release
the soul of our love -
we were fighting for peace,
in the shape of a dove.
I last saw you bleeding
all over the street.
I spend my days pleading
for something to eat." 06/14/2008
Author's Note: This is a 'dramatic monologue', spoken by a woman who has tried to bring progress to an oppressed country.
Posted on 06/14/2008
Copyright © 2026 Nancy Ames
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 06/19/08 at 08:34 PM I like the play on "lady in distress"(in my mind, anyway) and prefer your title wording. I naturally like the tight rhyming - it makes for a quick read, but then I find myself back at the beginning reading more slowly, trying to absorb what this woman must be going through. "I last saw you bleeding
all over the street." - sad lines that give this tragic depth.
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