She loved the scent
of ink and smoke -
and the way strangers
caressed her name
like the verdant rushes
rolling off the river bank,
or a low slung
black dress
sprawled dangerously
across the floor.
Mornings found her
curled up
where the light
shivered blue
and the cat's tale
lingered like a secret,
waking her from dreams
brighter than early frost.
But it was night
that bought and sold her,
made her heart a trinket,
dressing her in silk
as new as nuptials -
that flagrant shade of flush
and the rough and tumble
of her hips
serenading the world