MANNERS FOR GENTLEMEN

MANNERS FOR GENTLEMEN

A gentleman should never question a lady’s poems.

~Ray Hudson

 

A gentleman always pours wine for a lady

so that the fire under her skin

will not set the alcohol ablaze.

 

A gentleman always precedes a lady into a crowd

to shield the innocent

from the power of her gaze.

 

A gentleman always seizes his hatbrim when a lady passes

so that the whirlwind that follows her

will not carry it off into the street.

 

A gentleman always opens a door for a lady

so that she may have her sword arm free

to vanquish the villans lurking behind.

(This is also why he carries her packages.)

 

A gentleman always walks on the streetside of a lady

so that she may, with a white-gloved finger,

tap into place any loose bricks

in the foundations of civilization.

 

A gentlemen always follows a lady into a carriage

so that he will not be in the way

if she must stun the driver, seize the reins,

and gallop resolutely toward the invading hordes.

 

 

ATLANTA REVIEW, fall 2008