Page 47 - Contrast1990

Hilltop-a sestina
by Ron Ferguson

There are two goals that I've set for myself-
First, to one day finally see the face
of the perfect girl- my wife, my lover
And then to take her to the hilltop and taste
her licorice stick lips that would now forever
be exclusively mine. But it will take time for her to be found.

This patience does not come easy, I've found
because I often trip into despair and tell myself
that I'll never find her and be alone forever.
To die old and lonely is something I couldn't face-
A dried-up old tea biscuit that no one wants to taste,
frowned upon at the bottom of a box by some petit-four lover.

But I still wait for that night on the hilltop when I'll love her
and she'll love me. Every single star will be found
by she and I. I wonder if they would taste
like champagne-light and silly. I'm not sure myself-
But she will know and I'll see it in her face.
She'll be the brightest, lightest, silliest star ever.

I'm not quite sure what she'll look like-I never
had a specific girl in mind. I've always been a lover
of simple girls-short hair and soft voice. Her face
will be free of color pencil marks and creams found
on any harlot's face. She'll have the eyes I've always wanted for
myself-
and all this, for the first time on the hilltop, I'll taste.

42