[The following sonnet may offend some readers. Do not read it if you think you may be offended.]
Preincarnation:
Rear Regard Action*
Talleyrand said, “Love is a reality in the domain of the imagination.”
“Celui qui n’a pas vécu au dix-huitième si cu au
dix-huitième siécle avant la Révolution ne connaît
pas la doucer de vivre.” (“Those who haven’t lived
in the eighteenth century before the Revolution do
not know the sweetness of living”)
~ Talleyrand
I lived then. Silks as sweet as marzipan
Made satin afternoons. When twilight came,
The candles gave off sweetness, smoother than
Light bulbs now. Electricity’s the same
As saccharine, faux sweetness, neon bland.
I had a stallion, black, delicious to
The eye as liquorice from the footman’s hand,
The one that taught mon coq to sing like blue
Bird notes in swirls of sugar spun on top
Of pink meringues that tasted like the tongue
The Duke deployed greedily to mop
Up my juices as they ran from the bung
Hole of the Duchess. That was the sweetest sin,
Principally when he worked his finger in.*