The Lady of Estonia

Suzanne Morris

April 2, 2023

She takes up most of the bench

on a crowded beach

her back turned on the camera,

her back turned on me.

Wearing a leopard skin

swimsuit–

her broad, white-as-marble,

back bare but for a string– 

she might be cornered

in a wrestling ring.

Her arms crossed

on her mountainous breast

sun hat with daisy dwarfed

by her body’s great breadth

she’s looking out over the water

and doesn’t care

that I bemoan all visceral fat

stretching and bending to keep it at bay,

to look younger 

on pain of irrelevance,

of invisibility.

And what I would I say to her– 

if she could hear– is

Praise to you, proud lady of Estonia,

for not caring

one of your leopard spots

how the world thinks you appear.

How imposing you look

amidst string-bikini clad

young girls accruing

golden tans

and titillated glances

from male fans

as you sit with legs parted,

feet planted squarely in the sand

arms crossed in front

like a thumbed nose,

looking out over the water.

Suzanne Morris is a novelist and a poet.  Her work appears in online poetry journals including The Texas Poetry Assignment, The New Verse News, The Pinecone Review, Emblazoned Soul Review and Stone Poetry Quarterly.