she had wine with gertrude steins widow
a bit of chablis
with alice b
on a yellowing note
she hastily wrote
regret i cannot meet you on wednesday
sincerely alice b toklas
i continue to stare
as if someone is there
behind the fading letter
written by the woman
who loved the woman
who wrote all the words
i think of her face
lived in and comfortable
a rocking chair for the eyes
a detector of lies
a charmer who sighs
everybody loves me
when everybody loves me
it is everybody loves me
she had wine with gertrude steins widow
tiny hostess in black
keeping the flame intact
oh you know gertrude loved this
and gertrude loved that
and in the hallways
of 5 rue christine
i shake off the dust
of a moment unseen
and the ghosts float by
like some magical song
and yes my dear
they have been asleep too long
when they have been asleep too long
it is they have been asleep too long
there is no one to tell you
and so it might seem
i have enchanted myself
with this wonderful dream
of that day in paris
my friend drank wine
with the tiny widow of gertrude stein

Connie Carmichael is a retired mental health care worker, retired and living in Columbus, Ohio. She lives with her wife, her loyal dog, and a head full of poems. This poem has no punctuation in honor of Ms. Stein.