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Jewel
The party was dull and boring,
Stuffy, stilted, and slow,
The kind that
people attended,
Because duty made them go.
In the background, chamber music,
In the foreground, light chitchat,
Strangers
politely mixing,
With small talk of this and that.
Guests peeking at their watches,
To decide when they could
leave,
Yawns and sighs and rolling eyes,
Most looking for reprieve.
Then the front door opened,
And another
guest had come,
A lovely lady stood there,
And all heads turned as one.
Like light chiffon on a summer's eve,
She
barely seemed to move,
But unpretentiously it seemed,
She made her way into the room.
She smiled at her hostess,
And
offered the perfunctory kiss,
Then surveyed the entire room,
As she picked a place to sit.
Such charm and poise
she possessed.
As a movement in a dance,
And every motion that she made,
Displayed her elegance.
As others
sensed her presence,
They all reacted as if stunned,
Her beauty so exquisite,
They were truly overcome.
She
sat erect, her head held high,
And sipped on pink champagne,
A lighted candle placed near by,
Enhanced her beauty
with its flame.
The flickering candle became her,
By adding more depth to her eyes,
Already deep, they grew deeper,
Their
depth intensified.
Those wide-set, soulful eyes,
And her well-marked high cheek bones,
Complimented her full
red lips,
And her perfectly sculptured nose.
Her figure was that of a model's,
Her hair was a golden sheen,
A
radiant aura about her,
Like no one before had seen.
One fire-filled diamond hung at her throat,
The only jewel
she wore,
But since she was a jewel herself,
She needed nothing more.
What an enchanting vision,
Too awesome
for men to approach,
They stood back like boys at a prom,
Straightening ties and clearing throats.
Unnoticed
by the lady
Was a pair of eyes across the room,
Which had been watching her intently,
And had seen her every move.
A
dark-eyed handsome man,
With a touch of silver in his hair,
Could not take his eyes off her,
Though he did not mean
to stare.
It is an accepted fact,
That love at first sight can occur,
And the gentleman across the room
Was
falling in love with her.
When he saw her check her tiny watch,
He stood and edged his way
Slowly through the
crowded room,
He could not let her get away.
He had barely reached her side,
When gracefully she rose,
He
met her eye and touched her hand,
"Please," he said, "Don't go."
Nothing he could say or do
Could persuade her
otherwise,
"Your name?" he asked, "Please, just your name?"
"Jewel," came her reply.
He helped her with her wrap,
Then
walked her to the door,
"Good evening," she sweetly smiled,
Her voice soft; he wanted more.
Questions rose, once
she had gone,
"Who was that lovely soul?"
And ... surprisingly enough,
Her hostess did not know.
But upon
the floor, near where she'd sat,
Her diamond pendant lay,
The man knelt down to pick it up,
Then put it carefully
away.
The next day he informed the police,
He was totally mystified
He wished the jewel to be returned,
And
the lady, identified.
She was out there somewhere,
But where? There was not a single trace,
When he held her
diamond in his hand,
He swore he saw her face.
He ran ads in all the papers,
He searched the Lost-and-Founds,
But
to no avail; he always failed,
His Jewel could not be found.
As time passed, he grew discouraged,
He thought
himself a silly fool,
He truly did not want the gem,
He only wanted Jewel.
Finally he gave up his quest,
His
cause was lost, it seemed,
Perhaps the lady that he sought
Had merely been a dream.
Yet he had her diamond pendant,
Which
was real and of great worth,
But without her there to wear it,
He felt his heart would burst.
A local auction
for the poor
Was scheduled very soon,
The pendant could bring much money,
And the time was opportune.
A crowd
showed up for the sale,
And generous bids were made,
The final item on the block
Was the diamond, well displayed.
The
bids began and were high,
Rich men outbid one another,
So many wanted the gorgeous stone,
Each tried to outdo the
other.
"GOING! GOING!" Almost gone,
The gavel was raised in the air,
Suddenly a soft voice was heard,
That
caught everyone unaware.
The highest bid of all was called,
Everyone gasped with surprise,
And when he saw who
made the bid,
The man could not believe his eyes!
He rushed at once to the bidder's side,
And there stood his
beautiful Jewel,
A second chance for their romance.
Life, perhaps, was not so cruel.
While no one likes dull
parties,
One never knows what one might find,
Jewels composed of brilliant stones,
Or precious gems of humankind.
Virginia (Ginny) Ellis
©
Copyright February 2004
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