The sway of jazz piano
gets the slow dance in her
before she’s risen from her chair.
Betty doesn’t have a partner
and she doesn’t want to ask.
Instead, she goes to the center
of the floor and strikes a pose
a ballerina posture
from a jewelry box.
She hopes her sadness
can be seen through the dark.
She wants the men to think
of tiny dancers, young daughters
they’ve neglected
since the day they were born.
She wants them to think
of placating guilt, of their own successes,
and of giving the ballerina something for her box.
She hopes they feed her the pearls one by one.
