In the Loge, by Lynne Kemen

In the Loge, by Mary Cassatt (USA) 1878

​In the Loge

At the opera, it’s intermission,
and my husband’s gone to stretch his legs.
We both know he has gone to smoke.

He thinks I won’t notice
when he returns with the odor
on his clothing, and his breath.
It hurts me that he lies about
such obvious things.

Meanwhile, I use my opera glasses
to watch the crowd. It’s more amusing
than sitting through the opera.
For a moment, I think I recognize
someone I’ve worked very hard
to forget.

Edward was always trouble.
I smile as I recall his problems with
his family, how his father always had
to clean up the messes. Apologies,
bribes, payment of outstanding
balances, facing down angry husbands.

I look closely. My hands are
trembling. Unreasonable anxiety
surges through me as I continue
to watch.

I’m mistaken.

I haven’t seen Edward in nearly
twenty years. In the opera stand,
it’s a stranger with a similar stature.

They are sounding the bell to summon
the audience to return. My cigar-coated
husband is threading his way back.
When I look again, the man has
disappeared.

Lynne Kemen

Lynne Kemen’s full-length book of poetry, Shoes for Lucy, was published by SCE Press in 2023. Woodland Arts Editions published her chapbook, More Than a Handful  in 2020. Her work is anthologized in The Memory Palace: an ekphrastic anthology (Ekphrastic Editions, 2024), Seeing Things and Seeing Things 2 (Woodland Arts, 2020 and 2024). Lynne is President of the Board of Bright Hill Press and has served on many other not-for-profit boards. She is an editor and interviewer for Blue Mountain Review. She is a nominee for a Pushcart Prize (2024).