Girl With Playing Cards, by Jane Salmons

Girl With Playing Cards, by Irving Penn (USA). 1950.

Girl With Playing Cards

Cool in the shade
                           of a white parasol
the girl with porcelain skin
             rests on a swathe
             of soft, sun-lit sand -
hair veiled
in julep-green chiffon,
lips and nails painted
                          vermilion,
eyes hidden
behind black-winged glasses, she unfurls
an alabaster hand, draws
from a Gauloises
                        spreads out a fan
                                of Canasta cards
                                              plays them
close to her chest.

Jane Salmons

Jane Salmons lives in Stourbridge in the UK.  Currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing, she has had poems published on The Ekphrastic Review, Ink, Sweat and Tears, The Lake, Algebra of Owls, Amaryllis and various other webzines and journals.  In addition to writing poetry, she enjoys creating handmade photo-montage collage.