Shiver Poem by Terry Collett

Shiver,
that's what it did to her
sitting naked
in that river,

wanting to get back
to nature, as her mother
has told her:
get back to as it was girl,

rid yourself
of all that filth,
all that vanity,
all that god darn

modern take on beauty.
Shiver,
that's what it did her
lying nude

on Bret's bed,
the soft white pillow
beneath her head,
just as her man

has told her:
be close to nature,
rid yourself
of modesty,

rid yourself
of the thin cloth
of morality,
make love to me

until the dawn shows,
he said, lying butt naked
with her on the broad bed.
Shiver,

that's what death's kiss
did to her
as she lay undressed,
dying, unloved, unblessed.