Mrs. Brightening Poem by Ray Hansell

Back when I was growing up
In a city on the east coast
Although living wasn't easy
From life we tried to get the most

Not too far down the street
There lived a widow Mrs. Brightening
To all us teenage boys on the block
We all found her so enlightening

We'd always see her on the street
With clothes that clung so tight
She's smile as us boys walked by
They say she wore less clothes at night

Well, some people said that Mrs. Brightening
Had a touch that was like lightening
Most of the men in the neighborhood
Said, she'd get you hooked and that was frightening

The wife's would all get jealous
When their husbands looked her way
It seems this would cause arguments
Nearly every single day

Now, Mrs. Brightening didn't care
What any other woman thought
She didn't listen to what they had to say
In fact, she would always cut them off

As far as she was concerned
It had nothing to do with her
She said, that she could not control
The way other people were

Just because their husbands
Would turn their eyes her way
She said, she couldn't help it
If they like to watch her hips sway

Then a strange thing happened
That remains a mystery to this day
It seems that Mrs. Brightening
Seems to have vanished or gone away

No one knows what happened
Most don't really care
The wife's are all elated
That she is no longer there

Was there foul play involved
Many people thought maybe
Or, were the whispered rumors true
That she was having a married man's baby

Every so often someone will ask
What ever became of Mrs. Brightening
No one responds with a word at all
But some would love to be enlightened


12-19-18/RjH