No one knows that long ago
I escaped dirty dishes,
casseroles and laundry
to go dancing with someone forbidden.
We whirled all night! We sang and touched
the stars. Nothing existed
but ourselves and fire.
Since then, I have grown mellow
with middle age, comfortable
with life, complacent with marriage,
but once in awhile, thinking of that white-hot
guy, I rush to my closet
humming an old, love song,
searching for a certain, red dress
that even after all these years, still smoulders.
[Originally published in Quail Bell Magazine, 2023]
LaVern Spencer McCarthy has published twelve books of short stories and poetry and two journals. She has won over five hundred state awards for her poetry and thirty-four national awards. She is a life member of Poetry Society of Texas She resides in Blair Oklahoma.