Manon- Tina Rose

 

Paris was vibrant,

the outskirts, charcoal.

In dark corners

the women in red

lifted skirts for men in top hats.

Manon

was a demi-monde beauty,

scarlett dressed and wide-eyed,

Harlot,

They called her,

The men with grasping hands

who were always hungry.

An animal appetite

behind human eyes

A  beast in a suit.

If you listened carefully you could almost hear a hint of a growl

from the corner of his mouth

The sweat on his brow

window-wiped

with a lipstick blood handkerchief

Discarded

Before he returned home to his wife.

The silk strings on Manon’s corset were

always loose,

Recoiling

from eager  fingertips,

That were too rough.

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Tina Rose is a Bachelor of Arts (hons) English & Drama Graduate from Royal Holloway, University of London, and a  Masters graduate in English Literary Studies from Durham University.  She is a freelance writer & blogger, resident graduate assistant, and a creative writing teacher. You can read more of her writing at Tina Rose Poetry.