Tonight's Poet Corner: Celebrity

Celebrity
by Belinda Roddie

She leaves lipstick
on her collar,
pulls her into
linens neatly washed
by hired hands worn down
from wishing for a better life.

The siren of a mockingbird
is the only sound in the morning,
but beneath the still lit
chandelier, all is warm,
and all is wild,
and all is wonderful.

Until she returns to
the stage, she will wrap
up the facade in plastic
and hang it up in the closet
with the rest of her wardrobe.

She says goodbye to the latest
lover with long curls and a
sympathizing smile, and
all at once, her heart
hardens, and her eyes
become rhinestones again.