Momcafe

You stood so proudly for the photograph
Your bearing testament to a dancer’s grace,
Head up you looked not at the camera, but beyond it,
Beyond us
Imagining, perhaps, the effect
On the larger crowd
Your adoring public

I can see you now
The turquoise blue, exotic as a sultan’s turban,
Shimmered over you
A wide sash brought it together at the waist
Flowed down the back to form a train
The long skirt tapered to the ankles,
Revealing the glamorous, glittery shoes

It is a film star dress
An elegant, look at me dress
A hand in a long glove held to receive a gallant kiss
A turn of the head
The flashing of bulbs
Here, click, and here
Look up, look down, click

You accept it calmly
Your eyes are wide, your lips, carefully painted,
Hold the faintest of smiles

You made it yourself
Modelled it on your tailor’s dummy
That held your shape but not your essence
We are your public now
We clap our hands and cheer
What beauty!
Your eyes shine
Dad holds out one hand as if to present you
So proudly.