^z 13th February 2023 at 8:56pm
| Downstairs the ceiling overhead consists Of beams and joists and rough unfinished boards — The splintery skeleton of floors above That varnish, tile, parquet, or carpet hide From delicate perception, lest offense Be given to the senses of the sleek Who glide from room to room on polished tracks ... Exchanging pleasantries ... sipping their drinks ... Admiring the portraits on the walls Beneath the chandeliers that sprinkle light To mist bare maiden shoulders with a dew Of wealth and beauty. Music now cascades Soft in a waterfall of liquid sound. A dozen conversations splash and fade Like waves upon the shore of a bright bay. But underneath the surface of the sea A colder current flows. The denizens Of basement chambers, servants of the house, Can hear the creak of floorboards as new guests Arrive and doff their cloaks. They know their job, These underfolk: to stand, obey, and wait Upon their betters. So they lift their eyes To naked bulbs, stark shadows, rafters, planks, Preparing to put on a cheerful mask Of gracious acquiescence in their rôle. They fix their smiles in place and go upstairs. |
Tuesday, December 26, 2000 at 07:05:51 (EST) = 2000-12-26
(correlates: High Voltage Fiberoptic Cable, ConFormation, GentlemenPreferBlondes, ...)