Jack Stewart: El Greco’s Barmaid

In small town life, lovers are grist
for any gossip’s mill, even when the barmaid
stays at home, thinking about the cool grass
by the river, watching the moon pass
thinner and thinner, until the heart’s made
love into a diet of Christ

and perfect shadows, perfect kisses.
Where the water is brushed out long and black
in its own mirror, and the sun
brightens her bedclothes empty as sin,
and she ties the ragged curtains back
only after she pins her hair and dresses.

Copyright 2020 Jack Stewart. From No Reason (Poeima Poetry Series, 2020).

Jack Stewart’s work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including Poetry, The American Literary Review and The Southern Humanities Review. He lives in Coconut Creek, Florida.