a Poem I wrote way, way back....The Courtesan

It’s a matter of pride, you know

            The Courtesan

I once was the one

            Fallen from grace

The chosen

            Removed from the honored place

The first to be told

            At the table

The first to be asked

            Turned out of the palace

To accompany

            In the dead of night

To advise

            To lie in the gutter

Now I am the second or the third

            Splashing puddles

Maybe never

            On stained cheeks

To know again

            Smiling, pleading

To be acknowledged    

            To passing kings

October 1 1980

Its really two poems, mixed together...read the odd numbered lines for one, the even lines for the other.. and all together for the third experience.