Yours Always 1922 Poem by Terry Collett

Yours always
she had said
or written on the back
of the postcard

with a photograph
of her on the front
in black and white
(not sepia)

looking back at him
with a dour expression
on her rather plump face
and her black hair

parted at the side
and her dark eyes
gazing at him
as if asking

do you remember us
that night in Paris?
And that white dress
and those pearls

yes those pearls
he remembered
her taking them off
in the Parisian hotel

the last thing removed
before they made love
after a night out
at a cafe and a show

with dancing girls
but why
the dour expression?
She certainly wasn't

dour that night
or that other night in Madrid
but the postcard was the last
and she never sent one again

despite her writing
always yours and dated
on the back May 1922
he kept it locked away

in a drawer
what else
could a broken
hearted lover do?